Crash, Stomp and Snort: A Night in the Forest

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“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” - Dr. George Berkeley.

“My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart‘s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer.” - Robert Burns.

“Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.” - Carl Sandburg.

Crash, stomp and snort. All three sounds will become abundantly apparent as you listen to this week’s episode. I left a couple of clues in the quotes above. Success always finds the patient and prepared field recordist. I made that up. It’s no secret that the last few weeks have not been great for recording wildlife and nature sounds. My goal this week was to get back into the forest and feature an episode where the primary theme was not the sound of water.

I had a mild collision on my way to record last night, which caused some delay in getting to the recording location. I’m fine, the truck is fine, but a group of saplings sacrificed themselves in order to bring this recording to you. It was late when I arrived and because I had a mile to hike to the recording location; I prepared a drop rig setup. A drop rig is the name given by field recordists for recording equipment left unattended for an extended period without being monitored. This style of recording is useful for nocturnal activities or where wildlife is not used to human presence. With signs of beaver activity, animal prints (deer, fox), and hearing coyotes across the wide creek, hopes were high for a successful recording. 

I am thrilled with this recording. It starts off with the answer to the age old question, proffered by Berkeley in the 1600s and then follows a very curious and excitable deer as it comes across my recording gear in the middle of the night. A deer will stomp its hooves when it senses danger and you can hear it rush towards the microphone and then come back with piqued curiosity. It does not leave the area and eventually beds down a few feet from the microphone.

Finally, the echoes in this recording are breathtaking. I hope you enjoy this episode and I’ll see you next week.

Recording Details:

• Date and Time: 1/26/2023 | 2:45 AM
• Location: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
• Landscape/Feature: Near Otter Creek in a Densely Wooded Forest
• Conditions: 28F (-2C), Heavy Snow, Moderate Wind, Dense Fog
• Recording Device: Zoom F3 Field Recorder
• Microphone(s): Audio Technica BP 4025
• Digital Audio Workstation: Adobe Audition

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