Northwest Soundscapes

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

Normally a nature recordist spends time camping alone, away from the throngs of humanity that fill the soundscape with anthropogenic sound. For the 2017 eclipse, though, I joined my family and the estimated 100,00+ human that invaded the small town of Madras, OR, for the great eclipse of August 21, 2017. I wanted to know what the human animals' reaction would be. Being a first-timer myself, I had...

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

A short representative collection of elk (and a few birds) from a recent expedition. These are all excerpts from the same 3.5 hour recording on the morning of September 18, starting pre-dawn. It was rutting season in the Colockum Wildlife area, and just before the start of open hunting season, so the males were out, about, and vocal. These are raw tracks, down-mixed to stereo (from double-m/s), no...

On the morning of 21 April, 2017, I set up my microphones and recorder for a nice dawn recording in the East Cascades. It was early, and I started to fall asleep while recording. Instead of lulling off into dreamland, I was started awake by a screaming Douglas Pine Squirrel. It spent a good while telling me everything that was on its mind. I'm pretty certain it was a Douglas Pine Squirrel. I didn'...

I spent a night in a bed of moss, listening to the sounds of Springtime Alaskan boreal taiga in the twilight. Nearby swam a pair of loons. A beaver circled, territorially slapping the water with its tail. I smiled and listened. Location: Long Lake, Talkeetna, AK Weather: variable over the course of the night, 49-61°F, light to no wind, humidity rose from 31-52% Geophony: Clear lake in a hilly bore...

I spent a night in a bed of moss, listening to the sounds of Springtime Alaskan boreal taiga in the twilight. Nearby swam a pair of loons. A beaver circled, territorially slapping the water with its tail. I smiled and listened. Location: Long Lake, Talkeetna, AK Weather: variable over the course of the night, 49-61°F, light to no wind, humidity rose from 31-52% Geophony: Clear lake in a hilly bore...

I spent a night in a bed of moss, listening to the sounds of Springtime Alaskan boreal taiga in the twilight. Nearby swam a pair of loons. A beaver circled, territorially slapping the water with its tail. I smiled and listened. Location: Long Lake, Talkeetna, AK Weather: variable over the course of the night, 49-61°F, light to no wind, humidity rose from 31-52% Geophony: Clear lake in a hilly bore...

I spent a night in a bed of moss, listening to the sounds of Springtime Alaskan boreal taiga in the twilight. Nearby swam a pair of loons. A beaver circled, territorially slapping the water with its tail. I smiled and listened. Location: Long Lake, Talkeetna, AK Weather: variable over the course of the night, 49-61°F, light to no wind, humidity rose from 31-52% Geophony: Clear lake in a hilly bore...

I spent a night in a bed of moss, listening to the sounds of Springtime Alaskan boreal taiga in the twilight. Nearby swam a pair of loons. A beaver circled, territorially slapping the water with its tail. I smiled and listened. Location: Long Lake, Talkeetna, AK Weather: variable over the course of the night, 49-61°F, light to no wind, humidity rose from 31-52% Geophony: Clear lake in a hilly bore...

I spent a night in a bed of moss, listening to the sounds of Springtime Alaskan boreal taiga in the twilight. Nearby swam a pair of loons. A beaver circled, territorially slapping the water with its tail. I smiled and listened. Location: Long Lake, Talkeetna, AK Weather: variable over the course of the night, 49-61°F, light to no wind, humidity rose from 31-52% Geophony: Clear lake in a hilly bore...

Sinlahekin Valley is the heart of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, a large unit managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A mixture of ranch land, managed big-game area, protected wildlife refuge, and dedicated recreation area, Sinlahekin is a beautiful, bio-diverse and extremely habitat diverse region protected from human over-run more from remoteness than anything else. The valley...

Sinlahekin Valley is the heart of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, a large unit managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A mixture of ranch land, managed big-game area, protected wildlife refuge, and dedicated recreation area, Sinlahekin is a beautiful, bio-diverse and extremely habitat diverse region protected from human over-run more from remoteness than anything else. The valley...

Sinlahekin Valley is the heart of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, a large unit managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A mixture of ranch land, managed big-game area, protected wildlife refuge, and dedicated recreation area, Sinlahekin is a beautiful, bio-diverse and extremely habitat diverse region protected from human over-run more from remoteness than anything else. The valley...

Sinlahekin Valley is the heart of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, a large unit managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A mixture of ranch land, managed big-game area, protected wildlife refuge, and dedicated recreation area, Sinlahekin is a beautiful, bio-diverse and extremely habitat diverse region protected from human over-run more from remoteness than anything else. The valley...

Sinlahekin Valley is the heart of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, a large unit managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A mixture of ranch land, managed big-game area, protected wildlife refuge, and dedicated recreation area, Sinlahekin is a beautiful, bio-diverse and extremely habitat diverse region protected from human over-run more from remoteness than anything else. The valley...

Sinlahekin Valley is the heart of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, a large unit managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A mixture of ranch land, managed big-game area, protected wildlife refuge, and dedicated recreation area, Sinlahekin is a beautiful, bio-diverse and extremely habitat diverse region protected from human over-run more from remoteness than anything else. The valley...

Sinlahekin Valley is the heart of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, a large unit managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. A mixture of ranch land, managed big-game area, protected wildlife refuge, and dedicated recreation area, Sinlahekin is a beautiful, bio-diverse and extremely habitat diverse region protected from human over-run more from remoteness than anything else. The valley...

Dusk falls on my second night at Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Glenwood, WA. Conboy is an important migratory stop and residency for many different kinds of waterfowl, songbirds, and cranes. There is a vibrancy of life here, echoed and heightened by the singing natural reverb, that makes me want to stay and listen forever. The lake itself is transient, filled by the melting cover of wint...

Ah, the mighty Westward BNSF Freight Train. Here we listen to it's mighty roar as it progresses on a westward migration. Stunning in it's majesty, rare to find in its pristine, untouched habitat: the long tracks. Like its cousin, the Eastward BNSF, it beats the ground in a display of dominance guaranteed to attract attention and hopefully a mate. A rather more recent introduction to the Pacific No...