Outdoor Sounds

Slushy Michigan rain in December.  Slushy December rain. When you live in Michigan, the weather can be pretty unpredictable. It might be sunny, rainy, and snowy all at the same time. It’s actually been pretty cold and snowy over the last couple of weeks, but during a brief warm-up, nearly everything melted, and it even rained for a day before completely snowing over again.  This recording of surpr...

Early winter snowfall taps against lingering autumn leaves, creating a soft, steady white-noise soundscape. This recording is subtle and calming. If you’ve never experienced Michigan, we’re lucky to have all four seasons and a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees. Most years, the leaves are long gone by the time the first real snow arrives—but this year was different. An early snowfall came before...

Evening rush hour heard from the edge of winter woods—traffic, falling snow, and quiet creaks carried through cold air. When you live close to a city, it’s hard to avoid the sound of traffic—especially in winter. With the trees bare and snow covering the ground, sound carries differently, traveling farther and standing out more sharply against the otherwise quiet landscape. Today’s recording captu...

A half-frozen winter runoff flowing into the Rogue River—gentle tones of water and ice recorded on a cold Midwest day. The longer I spend listening to nature… the clearer the subtleties become. Winter has fully arrived here in the Midwest, and during a quiet walk through the town of Rockford, Michigan, I went searching for something worth capturing. Near the boardwalk, I came across a small runoff...

Wind chimes on a breezy day. This Outdoor Sounds.  I’ve really been enjoying the simple things lately. We recently had a windy West Michigan day - it’s nature’s way of removing the rest of the leaves from the trees. And I capture the sounds of the little wind chime hanging off the roof on our deck.  It was recorded with my Sennheiser Shotgun mic and Zoom F3 recorder. 

Church silence. This is Outdoor Sounds.  Sometimes the best sound is when there is none at all. I recently stopped pray in the middle of the night at a church I knew was open. It was close to midnight, just barely raining, and silent in a way I haven’t heard in a long time.  Fortunately I had my equipment in the truck so I set up in this little grove or grotto on the side of the building and let i...

Traveling to Australia. This is Outdoor Sounds.  Today’s episode is a special submission from a friend of mine, Jason Earle, the Founder of GotMold. Jason has been spending some time abroad and was able to capture some early morning nature sounds in Manly, New South Wales. It’s a popular beachside suburb of northern Sydney Australia.  The recording start very quite and then comes to life with the...

A running clean stream. This is Outdoor Sounds.  Most of the time, I don’t need much. On this recording I sat in the woods on a Sunday afternoon for about an hour and a half while recording a beautiful little stream. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. This was recorded with my sennheiser mkh416 shotgun mic and zoom f3 digital recorder. 

Sitting in the woods with nothing to do. This is Outdoor Sounds.  This is a shorter recording from my hour and a half stint in the woods. The bummer is I didn’t check the battery before recording and I only captured about 20 minutes of it.  Regardless, I hope you are as relaxed as I was listening to this.  It was recorded with my LOM BasicUchos and MixPre 6. 

The Early Morning Songbirds at a Hocking Hills Campground episode was the most popular recording from last quarter. So, here is the audio looped for over 8 hours for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

Unwind by a September bonfire as the crackle fades to embers, joined by crickets, night air, and wildlife in this calming outdoor soundscape. In this episode, you’ll join me for the wind-down of a family bonfire on a beautiful Sunday evening in September. As the fire slowly burns from bright crackles down to glowing embers, the surrounding nighttime soundscape begins to take center stage. You’ll h...

Wandering the Hansen Nature Trail at Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Wandering the Hansen Nature Trail at Millennium Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This started as an expedition to record the sounds at the pond, but was interrupted by a family fishing, so I decided to wander instead.  Listen for a variety of sounds like birds, bugs, water, people riding bikes, other people riding those...

Bugs celebrate their last summer hurrah on a noisy August night in the woodlands of Michigan.  The transition between late summer into fall is made evident by one telltale factor: how loud the bugs get at night as August draws to a close. It’s like their last hurrah before the cold weather settles in.  For this recording, I drove over to a local woods and set my equipment up on the back of the tru...

Nighttime sounds transition as a storm rolls in in late August.  A storm rolls in in late August.  Today’s recording captures an amazing transition. It begins with another loud August evening, similar to the previous episode, and about 15 minutes in, it transitions to a thunderstorm. As the storm rolls in, all of the bugs and night sounds disappear, and it shifts to the quickly heightening sound o...

Taking a stroll on the shore of Lake Michigan.  A short stroll down the shore of Lake Michigan.  This episode was recorded with a DPA headset. So if you’re wearing headphones, the first half of the recording you’ll hear the waves in one ear and the ambience of beach goers in the other. You’ll hear when I’ve turned around to head back from where I came, as the waves and people switch ears, making f...

Relaxing camping atmosphere from within a tent at Hocking Hills Campsite. Relaxing in a tent as a storm blows in at Hocking Hills Campsite in scenic Logan, Ohio.   This recording was made at the campsite from inside the tent. Listen for classic camp sounds like ambient talking, cars driving past, birds, and the wind picking up before a storm blew in.  Recorded in stereo with the Zoom F3 and LOM ba...

A steady midsummer rain shower in West Michigan. Today you’re listening to a long, steady rain shower on a quiet midsummer afternoon. Listen for the rain falling on the leaves of a Japanese maple tree and the darkening sidewalk.  This was recorded in stereo with the Zoom F3 and LOM basicUcho microphones. This is Outdoor Sounds.

Energetic early birds at Hocking Hills State Park Campground in Ohio. The most songbird activity I’ve ever heard. Recorded at my campsite in Hocking Hills State Park Campground in Ohio.  These birds certainly put the early in earlybird. They woke me at 5:30 AM, I started recording at 6 AM.  The majority of the recording is birds, but I do want you to pay attention to one louder call about 1/3 of t...

This episode is a LONG looped version of the Flowing Through Some Logs on the Kalamazoo episode. Great for deep focus, sleep, and more. Enjoy!

This is an 8 hour looped version of the popular "Hot Tub on the River" episode featuring the sounds of a hot tub running at an Airbnb property next to the Kalamazoo River.