Northwest Soundscapes

Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis, brief developing song string, clean processed from original parabolic recording followed by the original source family: Mimidae -- Mockingbirds and Thrashers Gray Catbirds are most easily recognizable from their characteristic "mew" like a loud cat, but males are also well known for long, developing song performances that include whistles, squeaks, gurgles, wh...

Sandhill Cranes are on their annual northbound migration. Every year thousands of cranes fly from all points South in North America to the far North. From Florida, Texas, California they migrate thousands of miles on the longest migration of any crane species in the world, with destinations ranging from Washington to Northern Canada, Alaska, and even (some) to the far eastern edges of Arctic Asia....

Scaly-breasted Wren, Microcerculus marginatus, née Southern Nightingale-wren, more likely heard than seen, this tiny bird spends its time on the floors of humid rainforests, hopping quietly, but singing brightly. Its loud, cheerful song consists of bright, clear, pure tones with seemingly random pitch, volume, rhythm, and length variation. Alternately slow-and-steady and fast-paced-and-frenetic, i...

A powerful thunderstorm moves in across the swamp. Deep booming thunder drives the insects, birds, and frogs to seek shelter. Sheets of rain whip the trees and understory plants. Hard thunderous cracks mingle with a steady downpour. This is the power of the sky when it meets the Earth.

A powerful thunderstorm moves in across the swamp. Deep booming thunder drives the insects, birds, and frogs to seek shelter. Sheets of rain whip the trees and understory plants. Hard thunderous cracks mingle with a steady downpour. This is the power of the sky when it meets the Earth.

A powerful thunderstorm moves in across the swamp. Deep booming thunder drives the insects, birds, and frogs to seek shelter. Sheets of rain whip the trees and understory plants. Hard thunderous cracks mingle with a steady downpour. This is the power of the sky when it meets the Earth.

A powerful thunderstorm moves in across the swamp. Deep booming thunder drives the insects, birds, and frogs to seek shelter. Sheets of rain whip the trees and understory plants. Hard thunderous cracks mingle with a steady downpour. This is the power of the sky when it meets the Earth.

TRUE FROGS - AMERICAN BULLFROG - Lithobates catesbeianus A small-but-growing colony chorusing at night in the Promontory Ponds of Seattle's Warren G. Magnuson Park. American Bullfrogs are a destructive invasive species in the western States of the US. That a colony has managed to take up residence and thrive in an urban nature preserve is highly alarming. The focus is shifting, moving between indi...

A short representative sample of Wood Duck recordings. Wood Ducks, Aix sponsa, are common ducks of swamps, marshes, and other riparian habitats in North America. Being the only duck to nest in tree cavities, they depends on the holes drilled by Pileated Woodpeckers, linking the survival of the woodpecker to the success of the duck to best and breed. Noisy and loud, females have multiple calls but...

A short representative sample of Wood Duck recordings. Wood Ducks, Aix sponsa, are common ducks of swamps, marshes, and other riparian habitats in North America. Being the only duck to nest in tree cavities, they depends on the holes drilled by Pileated Woodpeckers, linking the survival of the woodpecker to the success of the duck to best and breed. Noisy and loud, females have multiple calls but...

A short representative sample of Wood Duck recordings. Wood Ducks, Aix sponsa, are common ducks of swamps, marshes, and other riparian habitats in North America. Being the only duck to nest in tree cavities, they depends on the holes drilled by Pileated Woodpeckers, linking the survival of the woodpecker to the success of the duck to best and breed. Noisy and loud, females have multiple calls but...

A short representative sample of Wood Duck recordings. Wood Ducks, Aix sponsa, are common ducks of swamps, marshes, and other riparian habitats in North America. Being the only duck to nest in tree cavities, they depends on the holes drilled by Pileated Woodpeckers, linking the survival of the woodpecker to the success of the duck to best and breed. Noisy and loud, females have multiple calls but...

Spotted Towhee 01 by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

Common Nighthawks, Chordeiles minor, circle around in long, swirling loops when courting mates. They call repeatedly with a nasal "peent", interrupted occasionally by a short dive, tucking their wings in to create a spectacular "boom" as the air rushes through their feathers. Being a largely crepuscular behavior, it is more often heard rather than seen. It much of rural North America this is a twi...

AMBLake - Spring Bayley Lake Raven, Croaks, Beeps, Wing Flaps WIP by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

Bayley Lake Dawning WIP by Andy "soundeziner" Martin

Compulsion Games sent me into Southern swamps and wilderness to record swamp ambiences, insects, frogs, and birds for their upcoming game South of Midnight. This is just a taste of what I got to listen to... Diverse, constant midnight frog voices dominated by the chuckling-quack of Southern Leopard Frogs and creaking ratchet of Cajun Chorus Frogs with background Spring Peepers. Amazingly, this is...

Veery, Catharus Fuscescens Another LBB Thrush: Little Brown Bird Like the Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and Wood Thrush, a Veery's drab brown appearance in no way prepares you for the traditional Thrushy flutiness of its song. A down-turned, slightly depressed song in comparison to the raw beauty of a Swainson's or haunting loneliness of the Hermit and Wood Thrushes, the Veery nonetheless weav...

Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus A common breeding songbird in the woodlands of eastern North America, but found throughout the Pacific Northwest. This delightful little friend was recorded on Summer Solstice, 2024, in Sinlahekin Valley in the Okanogan high country of Washington State in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Cleaned and original parabolic source Image credit: "Red-eyed Vireo" by U. S. F...

Appropriately named after the brilliant gemstone Lapis Lazuli, the Lazuli Bunting is a persistent singer throughout it's range during breeding season. Each male has its own distinct song, usually "crystalized" around two years of age. During their first hatching season, young males may babble experimental notes, but they do not learn from their fathers. Instead, they copy and interpret snippets of...

Appropriately named after the brilliant gemstone Lapis Lazuli, the Lazuli Bunting is a persistent singer throughout it's range during breeding season. Each male has its own distinct song, usually "crystalized" around two years of age. During their first hatching season, young males may babble experimental notes, but they do not learn from their fathers. Instead, they copy and interpret snippets of...

Eastern Narrowmouth Toads, Gastrophryne carolinensis small pod in a dense Louisiana swamp, emitting cute little whines as they search for one another during mating season, 2022-04-14 crickets, birds, and pig frogs in background, stereo decoded form double mid-side original photo is original, on location

Canyon Wren, Catherpes mexicanus, 3 performed songs, singing from top of cliff, parabolic single-species recording, timing condensed, but natural pace, rhythm, and dynamics maintained, clean processed for clarity, family: Wrens

I got to spend December 2023 recording in several jungle locations in Costa Rica. The experience was wonderful and inspiring. Most of the trip was spent on Osa Peninsula, in lodges that bordered Parque Nacional Corcovado (Corcovado National Park). With nearly 2.5% of the world's species represented, many of them endemic, it is recognized as one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. On the...

I had the pleasure of spending the month of December 2023 recording in a few different jungle locations in Costa Rica. The experience was wonderful and inspiring. Most of the trip was spent on Osa Peninsula, in lodges that bordered Parque Nacional Corcovado (Corcovado National Park). The peninsula and the park are recognized as one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, with 2.5% of the wor...