Soundscape

As promised, here is the stationary field recording that I made on the same day I captured sound for the recent Frenchman’s Bar Soundwalk. It was March 5, 2023, a year ago to the date. The actual setup is subtly audible in the soundwalk recording.

This recording utilized my heaviest microphones: a pair of Rode NT-1s. These are the lowest self-noise mics on the market, so they yield a particularly transparent stereo image. They also have tradeoffs. As mentioned they are heavy and bulky, and they don’t tolerate humid, windy, or rainy conditions. To avoid the wind I had to place them close to the ground. Consequently, you hear more grass noises. Bet you didn’t know grass was so noisy!

A note about the name “Shillapoo”. Shillapoo Wildlife area, Vancouver Lowlands, Frenchman’s Bar, and Columbia Lowlands are all applicable geographic names for the auditory horizon of this recording. I chose Shillapoo, because it’s one that I haven’t used yet in a title, and I just like the name. The factoid-rich The Columbia River, A Photographic Journey had this to say about it:

Historians say that early pioneers adopted the Indian name for the lake. Early names for the lake were "Chalifoux Lake", "Shallapoo Lake", "Shillapoo Lake", and "Shallowpool Lake"

The shallow 1000 acre lake was drained in the 1950s for farming.

The variety of sound sources and reverberant acoustics makes for an intriguing listen, I think! Enjoy!

I like the idea of sharing my recordings with a quick turnaround. This soundscape was recorded yesterday, capturing the Salmon River in the foothills of Mt. Hood near Brightwood, OR, at a place called Wildwood Recreation Site. The Salmon River has the distinction of being a wild and scenic river in Oregon, un-dammed from its mountain headwaters to the Pacific Ocean via the Sandy and Lower Columbia River.

Why did they name this 550 acre area Wildwood Recreation Site? I don’t know. A lot of places and businesses and even a friend’s book have been named Wildwood over the years. All I turned up was one laconic citation on Wikipedia: “Wildwood is an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States.” Also, a 1990 guidebook lists a nearby tavern of the same name. As far as a community goes, it seems to have a tenuous claim to the name, outside of the BLM applying it to this “site”. Such a cold word, site.

Anyway, let’s discuss charismatic wildlife here. This recording features the American Dipper, a beautiful, uniformly grey bird with white eyelids and an unsurpassed skill in navigating river currents. Not long ago we called it a Water Ouzel.

It’s a bellwether of water quality, favoring only the coldest and clearest waters. Consequently, it is not a bird you are likely to see on developed waterways in valleys. Its song is complex and burbling. I was thrilled to capture it, and am happy to share it with you. Chances are fair we will return to Wildwood on a soundwalk!

Happy Valentines Day! Soundscape is back with a special valentine dedication. This one goes out to my sweetheart. There is perhaps no better representative of devotion in the animal kingdom than that of the swan. They mate for life and look good doing it! (I happen to think they sound good too.) In our soundscape at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, recorded January 30, 2024, we hear two species. In the foreground is the call of the Trumpeter Swan. In the background is the Tundra Swan. The Trumpeter sounds like a brassy, oh-OH, while the Tundra sounds more like woo or oo-ou-oo. You’ll hear Canada Geese, Mallards, and even a Marsh Wren too.

Going forward, free subscribers will be able to listen to 5 min audio episodes. Paying subscribers will get the complete recordings, clocking in anywhere from 10-90 minutes! This one is about 15 minutes long. Enjoy!

This soundscape was captured May 21st, 2023 at Pawnee National Grassland. The full 43 minute recording can be heard and supported at Bandcamp https://fieldsound.bandcamp.com/album/the-gloaming-at-pawnee

Recorded May 22, 2023 on the banks of Beaver Book, in Rocky Mountain National Park. This is an ambisonic recording transcoded to stereo. The full hour-long minute recording can be enjoyed on Bandcamp: https://fieldsound.bandcamp.com/album/rocky-mountain-np-beaver-brook

Captured May 21nd, 2023 at Chico Basin Ranch, southeast of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The full recording is 25 minutes long and available for free on Bandcamp: ⁠fieldsound.bandcamp.com/album/chico-basin-creek

Captured May 22nd 2023 at Pawnee National Grassland in NE Colorado. The full recording is 1 hour long and available on Bandcamp: fieldsound.bandcamp.com/album/pawnee-grassland

This soundscape was recorded June 20th 2023 at Cascade Head on The Oregon Coast. Enjoy! For an audio journey through this landscape in March of this year, with my own musical accompaniment, visit my other podcast Soundwalk.

Recorded today May 18, 2023 in Marquam Nature Park, amazingly less than a half mile from downtown Portland, Oregon and an Interstate Highway Junction. For more pure field recordings find me at: artist.link/fieldsound. 

Recorded July 5th. 2022 in Jasper, AB Canada by the wide and braided Athabasca River.

For an immersive sound-rich exploration of the area with my original musical score check out my other podcast, Soundwalk: pods.link/soundwalk