"Ambient-Anthro" with Common Raven 
recorded on Lower Harbor Trail
Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park
Recorded at 7:54am on 5/28/21
Mix Pre-3 II, Sennheiser ME 66

052821 0754am CORA & AmbiAnthro 196
Comic:  https://falseknees.com/236.html?fbclid=IwAR0urmTH8qh8dDpQNghcfLUznR8oj6MqGF3phl5fJe74_jMoMwMjOhtZAt8

"Ambient-Anthro" with Common Raven

Small group of Blue Jays 
Lower Harbor Trail
Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park
Recorded at 8:17am, 5/30/21
Mix Pre-3 II, Telinga Parabola, Sennheiser ME62


Partial file: 053021 0817am BLJA 220

Cute Blue Jay sounds

part of recording of Brown Creeper
Lower Harbor Trail
Schoodic District, Acadia National Park
Winter Harbor, ME
Recorded w AudioMoth

Image by Laura Gooch via CC: BY-NC-SA 2.0




Edited Partial 20210602 091604 BRCR

Brown Creeper 060221 1330pm

Singing White-throated Sparrow -- Acadia National Park

2 Wood Thrush on the Hemlock Trail  at Sieur de Monts 

061122 440am 1127

Wood Thrush on the Hemlock Trail -- Acadia National Park

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse 062422 7am 1252

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse -- Acadia National Park

Thunder Hole a little less than an hour after low tide.






file: Thunder Hole Rev 062622 445am 1269

Thunder Hole -- Acadia National Park

incoming tide, 3+ hours before high tide


062622 704pm 1281

Cobblestones & waves at Little Hunters Beach -- Acadia National Park

Today was my first day using a binaural microphone. I recorded Snow Geese at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Dorchester County, MD. Be sure to use headphones to get the directional effects. 

I uploaded this, as I do most of my recordings, to Cornell's Macaulay Library (Lab of Ornithology) but since binaural and stereo recordings are not supported, I wanted to upload it to here as well. 

Here are the media notes for the recording (ML525286581)

A group of approximately 500 Snow Geese were calling, and then explode into flight at about 44 sec into the recording. You can hear their wings beating collectively & then voices rise together -- eventually they settle back down on the water in about the same spot. (In the distance behind me, and near the Visitor Center, branches were being cut and chipped; disappointingly, it is slightly audible.)

SNGO 011723 315pm 037 Rev

Snow Geese -- a binaural recording

This is a binaural recording. If you want an immersive & directional sound experience, please use headphones. 

Just before 7am about 1000 Snow Geese irrupted in flight. At the 3 second mark begins the sound of their wings exploding into flight, then their voices rise together. They flew from the impoundments near the Visitor Center, over me (on Wildlife Drive), and eventually landing & settling in the Blackwater River. This was predator evasion behavior. A Bald Eagle can be heard making 6 calls later in the recording beginning at 2 min 19 seconds. Weather: Low to mid-40s. Overcast.

Jan 30, 2023 @7am. Low to mid-40s. Overcast. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Dorchester County, MD.

Other birds vocalizing include Tundra Swans, Ring-billed Gulls, Mallards, Red-wing Blackbirds.

Equipment: Sound Devices Mix Pre-3 II recorder, and 3DIO Binaural microphone, 

file SNGO 013023 704am 059 short rev

(Image by Judy Gallagher CC 2.0 by Attribution, link follows: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52450054@N04/50064106942)

Snow Geese & Bald Eagle at Dawn at Blackwater NWR

Carolina Wren just outside the window in the oak tree about 15 feet away. 

04/08/14 9:30am

Fostex FR-2, Sennheiser ME-66, fade-in/fade-out with Audacity.

Carolina Wren

I just had an opportunity to put a new-to me/used BLIMP wind shield to the test.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler and 33mph wind gusts were recorded at the summit of Cadillac Mountain May 19, 2023 at 9:44am. No filters were applied, just a 2s fade-in and fade-out to ease into the listen.

While the Sound Devices Mix Pre-3 II has a 32-bit float, this recording was achieved with the Sennheiser MZW 60-1 Blimp Wind Shield. I could get rid of a little bit of the wind noise by using a high pass filter but I wanted to hear it without the filter. Not bad.

Wind & Warbler via Blimp

I started recording a Bay Breasted Warbler -- it was pretty much me and him in a nice gentle breeze on the Carriage Trail near Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park-- when suddenly the air waves quickly filled with many more species: Northern Flicker, Black Capped Chickadee, Black-throated Green Warbler, Oven Bird, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Common Loon(!), Humans (beeping their car horn, and later on, riding by on bicycles), Red-Breasted Nuthatch(doing it's fast song). Too much and not enough.

Too much. Not enough.

This is a binaural recording (best listened to with headphones)of at least 3 Wood Thrush singing. Recorded at 8:14am on 8/6/2023 at Bolingbroke Park, Izak Walton League of America, Maryland Mid-shore Chapter), in Trappe. 

Partial recording. Full recording: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/600882911

WOTH 080623 814am 696

Photo by Laura Gooch (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

3 Wood Thrush Singing

Tremolos and hoots of Common Loons in rain and thunder storm




COLO storm 444pm 322 LOON_20230705_1
image by L Sebastianelli 2010.

Loons in rain and thunder storm

A single Eastern American Toad (the long trilling sound) recorded at 9:20pm on April 30, 2015 on west Dyke Marsh behind River Towers (left of beaver lodge). 70 degrees. light breeze. Can also hear Green Frog(s) in the background (sounds like a plucked rubber band). 

Recorded with Fostex FR-2, Sennheiser ME 62, Telinga parabala. Edited in Audacity: amplified, fade in/out, high pass filter to reduce sound of cars, trains, and planes.

Eastern American Toad 9:20pm Apr 30 2015

American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus). The bullfrogs in west Dyke Marsh starting calling tonight, only a few, so far(and not yet in the synchronized rising and falling chorus that they do when they really get going in the breeding season). A Green Frog can be heard after the Bullfrog -- the plucked rubber band sound.

Recorded Tuesday May 5th, at 10:30pm, 68 degrees. Earlier in evening it had rained for a couple of hours; 6-8pm. Recorded with Fostex FR-2, Sennheiser ME62, Telinga Parabola. Edited in Audacity: fade in/out only. Image of Bullfrog was taken on April 21, 2015 -- also in west Dyke Marsh.

American Bullfrog

Probably a Cope's...given location; but not 100% certain. Recorded June 20, 2015 west Dyke Marsh, Alexandria, VA in RT's community garden at 11PM with iPhone 6. 73 degrees and raining. 

Edited in Audacity (shortened) and a high pass filter.

Gray Tree Frog

This was recorded on August 8th, 2011 via iPhone at 2:09 AM in a light misty rain at Lean-To #12 at South Branch Pond in Baxter State Park.  Within earshot were three frogs calling. This recording is from a 14 min recording edited in Audacity, adding gain. The Mink Frog is only found in the Northern latitudes. Approximate GPS is Latitude: 46-05'17'' N, Longitude: 068-53'41'' W.  This is my first recording with the iPhone using just the built-in mic. Best listened with earphones or headphones to differentiate individuals.
(taxonomy:binomial="Lithobates septentrionalis")

Mink Frog (Lithobates septentrionalis)

Great Horned Owl calling from forest at Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, MD on September 8, 2015 at 8:18pm. 

Temperature @ 80 degrees. 

Recorded with Fostex FR-2, Sennheiser ME-62, and Telinga Parabola.

Photo by Susan Rachlan, USFWS, 2006, Creative Commons, via Flickr.


Great Horned Owl (female?)

Pre-dawn: Beavers chewing (later swimming), Great Horned Owl hooting, and a few mallard ducks quacking. Anthropogenic noise: truck with "jake brakes" and possibly a ship on the Potomac River.

Recorded at 4:15am Dec 23, 2015 in Dyke Marsh from board walk on Mt Vernon trail, facing east. Fostex FR-2, Sennheiser ME62 and Telinga parabola. Edited in audacity: amplified, fade in/out.

Beaver Chewing & Owl Hooting

Great Horned Owl calling (with headphones you may also hear a distant Great Horned Owl). Mallards and some other unidentified birds in background. Anthropogenic noise: Ship on Potomac (?) and?or distant traffic(?).

Recorded about 4am Dec 23, 2015. Fostex FR-2, Sennhieser ME62, Telinga parabola. Edited in Audacity: Amplified, fade in/out.

Great Horned Owl

Carolina Wren in Dyke Marsh (flooded forest alongside channel). Mallard Duck in background as well as oak leaves rustling in the wind. A friend, Brian Wilson, says: "repeated note of a cardinal in the background, too—most apparent at about the 1:00 mark—and what sounds like a White-throated Sparrow at about :50." Anthropogenic noise: cars on NPS George Washington Memorial Parkway. 

Recorded about 8:30am January 10, 2016 with Fostex FR-2, Sennheiser ME62, Telinga Parabola. Edited in Audacity, Fade in/out.

image taken last year, March 8, 2015

Swainson's Thrush singing

Wednesday June 7, 2017 7:15 pm
temperature low 50s
clear skies
between the tides

Sun Dew Trail where it intersects with trail to Ocean Beach
Schoodic Pennisula
Acadia National Park
Winter Harbor, ME

Fostex FR2
Sennheister ME 66 short shotgun
trimmed and normalized to Best Practices in Audacity
and because of surf noise -- high pass filter at 250 hz

B19h15m23s07jun2017y.wav

Swainson's Thrush 060717 715pm

Common Nighthawk "peenting" and "wing booms" 3:58am on top of Schoodic Head (Schoodic Div., Acadia National Park). Edited, leveled and due to gusting winds and ocean noise, did high pass filter at 250hz. 

Recorded with Fostex FR2 and Sennheiser ME62 (would have used a different mic if I had known he would be here! Came for dawn chorus so only had the omni mic.)

B03h58m55s12jun2017y.wav

Common Nighthawk at Schoodic Head

This is a just a short portion of the dawn chorus atop Schoodic Head at the Overlook (about 420 ft above sea level), specifically listening to sounds that are new to me from a pair of nighthawks in courtship. After a wing boom and peenting, one of them landed on the rock ledge about 20-25 ft away from me, and began making a repetitive low frequency sound (800-1600hz) that is sort of froglike "Aueerer". During this time the other landed next to it. There is some hopping around and wing flapping& flailing as they move around (courtship for sure but unsure if they are mating or attempting to mate -- though that would be my guess) and then some soft "clucking" noises before a loud (and startling peent!) at which point they depart and the peeting and wing booming starts again (the latter not included -- nor the father-of-all wings booms which preceeded this activity). 

Partly Cloudy
56 deegrees, zero wind

Fostex FR2
Sennheiser ME 62 Omni mic

trimmed and leveled (-.10) in Audacity
Spectrogram created in Adobe Audition -- represents all sounds discussed (plus other bird species like Swainson's Thrush and Dark-eyed Junco).

B03h51m21s23jun2017y

Common Nighthawk courtship 062317 351am

Recorded on no name trail across from Frazer Pt, Schoodic Division, Acadia National Park. 

Fostex Fr2, Sennheiser ME 64
Sunny 61 degree, 7 mph winds

Trimmed, leveled, and hpf according to best practices
Spectrogram created in Adobe Audition

Northern Parula Trmd Lvld Hpf B06h41m21s25jun2017y

Northern Parula 062517 641am

This is a Barred Owl (thanks to Ed for confirming my ID!). It was hooting right off the balcony in a nearby tree! I did not have time to grab my recording equipment so just ran with the iPhone (which is good because it only hooted a few times -- I missed about three hoots before I started recording).

Recorded 9/25/2017 at 5:25 am with iPhone 6+, Rode app. No filters or editing ...just as is.

Barred Owl

Northern Saw-whet Owl, Common Nighthawk, Spring Peepers. Also White-throated Sparrow, and Green Frogs, Gray Tree Frogs.

Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park, Maine

Fostex FR-2
Sennheiser ME62
NSWO & CONI B20h34m47s08jun2018y

Saw-whet Owl, Nighthawk, & Peepers

This is not the original file, or the edited file according to ML Best Practices. I did some additional noise reduction because of the terrible wind that day. But I was excited to learn this is a Broad-winged Hawk calling at North Corea Heath.  

Marantz PMD561, Sennheiser ME62, Telinga Parabola

061918 0649to54 1031

Broad-winged Hawk

Recorded at Belle View Elementary School at 11:57pm, March 28, 2019

B23h57m52s28mar2019y

Spring Peepers

recorded in west Dyke Marsh while Red-shouldered Hawk was in flight at 11:22am, April 13, 2019

B11h22m43s13apr2019y

Red-shouldered Hawk

3 Barred Owls (1m & 2f) were "dueting" & caterwauling (latter begins at 12:06m). (Also Red Fox, possibly 2 at one point, were calling, beginning at 9:27min).

Barred Owls had begun "duetting" & caterwauling about 10 min before I started recording. Looking at the spectrogram, it appears to be a male and female pair with a 2nd female not far. The pair were about 35 feet away in the beginning, with the 2nd female at least 2x that distance. They did fly to another perch while I was recording, and I tried to get closer but was not as close. Red Fox, possibly 2 at one point, were calling as well at one point.

file: BAOWs & Fox 062320 515am 1061 Full

image: free download from https://www.pinclipart.com/downpngs/ihRRmo_raccoon-owl-red-fox-bird-raccoon-fox-clipart/

Barred Owl trio & Red Fox

tree frogs have been getting very vocal lately. here they are over the peepers, and some geen frogs. recorded May 29, 2013 around 10pm with a fostex fr-2, sennheiser me-66. edited in audacity. spectrogram created in Raven Pro.

Gray Treefrogs, Spring Peepers, and Green Frogs

Lucky me! A Common Raven landed in a tree above me just as I began to try to record a woodpecker (not included in this section). This is from the first 4 minutes. If you only have time for some of this recording, skip to the "KNOCKING" calls that start at 2 minutes into the recording! These are calls apparently only made by dominant females. AMAZING! This was recorded at the Yuba Pass in the Tahoe National Forest in California. Recorded June 10, 2013 with a Fostex FR-2 and Senneheiser ME 66. Edited in Audacity.

Knocking Common Raven -- Yuba Pass, Tahoe National Forest, CA

This was a Barred Owl recorded at home at 9:40 PM with Fostex FR-2 recorder and Sennheiser ME 66. You can hear Gray Tree Frogs and Green Frogs in the background  (in the wetland) and a light rain was falling.

Edited with Audacity.

Barred Owl, Green Frogs, Gray Tree frogs, & Light Rain

I am naturalist, ecological educator, sound recordist, citizen scientist, and active community member living near Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve in Alexandria, VA. More here: https://wildaroundus.wordpress.com/ and https://soundsofschoodic.wordpress.com/

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