172: Spring Night at Dry Lake

This was recorded on a clear summer morning in Trail Gulch in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, Siskiyou County, California. I set the mic up in an Alder thicket, not far from Trail Gulch Creek, near the edge of a large meadow. Much of the area burned in a large wildfire in 2021, but the trees and vegetation growing near and along the creek in the immediate area were untouched, with the help of the nearby meadow which provided a natural fire break. The recording starts at dawn, a little before the first birds began to sing, and continues into the morning. Many different birds are heard in this recording, including- American Robin, Lazuli Bunting, Swainson's Thrush, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Steller's Jay, Mountain Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and others.There is a little more air traffic on this recording than I'd like, but I didn't think it was so bad that I couldn't share this otherwise beautiful soundscape with you. I hope you enjoy it.

This was recorded on a warm and sunny late spring afternoon by the side of forest road 39N05 near the East Fork of the Salmon River in Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, California.

This was recorded on a beautiful spring morning in the forest near Six Shooter Butte in Sattitla Highlands National Monument, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. A gentle breeze blew steadily through the fir and pine trees above as the birds began to sing in the faint light of dawn. Listen for the songs of Yellow Rumped Warblers, Western Tanagers, Hermit Thrushes, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and others.

This was recorded on a cold spring night beside rapids on the swiftly flowing North Fork of the Salmon River in Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. The Salmon River is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and is free of dams and significant flow diversions of any sort. The river and its watershed are located entirely with the remote and rugged Klamath Mountains in far northern California. I strapped the mic to an Alder tree such that it was overhanging the water at the river's edge, which had nothing to do with the fact that I forgot to bring my tripod, I swear.

This was recorded on a breezy spring afternoon in the forest beside the Pacific Crest Trail in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Shasta County, California. Listen for the footsteps of a passing hiker, that thankfully didn't disturb my conspicuously placed microphone, early in the recording.

This was recorded on a clear spring night beside Dry Lake in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. The recording starts just before midnight and ends just before sunrise.

This was recorded on a clear and sunny spring day beside the North Fork of the Salmon River near Idlewild Campground in Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. The river was flowing swift and high with abundant snowmelt originating in the Marble Mountains, a sub-range of the Klamath Mountains. On occasion, Steller's Jay's call raucously nearby from the bare branches of the White Alder growing along the river's edge.This river is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and lies entirely within the Klamath Mountains in far northern California. According to Wikipedia- "Unlike most other large California rivers, the Salmon is completely free flowing, with no dams or significant flow diversions of any kind. It is one of the most pristine areas in the Klamath River system and one of California's most pristine rivers."

This was recorded on a cloudy spring evening during low tide at Mattole Beach on the Lost Coast in Humboldt County, California. There was a light offshore wind and the ocean surface was glassy, a rare treat at a place that is commonly quite windy.

This was compiled from parts of the overnight recording I made tree ears style on a Mountain Hemlock tree standing near Russian Lake in the Russian Wilderness on a very warm summer night in mid July. The first part of this recording was heard in the previous episode, after which the frogs quieted down and the air traffic picked up. Along with the air traffic came curious cloven hoofed visitors, Black Tailed Deer, that stopped by to investigate my recording rig no less than seven times throughout the night. When I retrieved my gear the morning after I set it up, there was nothing to indicate that it had been inspected the night before, so I was delighted to find upon monitoring the recording that it captured the sounds of the nocturnal inspectors.

This was recorded on a partly cloudy and warm summer evening beside Russian Lake in the Russian Wilderness, Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. The wind was calm and the lake was still as frogs sang in chorus and snowmelt streams flowed gently into the lake on its far side. This was recorded tree ears style on a Mountain Hemlock tree standing about twenty feet from the lakes edge. The recording starts just after sunset. This is the first part of what was an all night recording at this spot by the lake. The night started quietly but air traffic picked up due to firefighting operations on the Shelly Fire which was burning about 15 miles to the north. I was hoping to get a good long duration recording at this spot, but the abundance of low flying air traffic, not to mention some curious deer, prevented that from happening.