Listen deep into the forest in this unusually quiet place along California's Highway 49. The usual small forest birds are present along with an occasional jay, a couple of drumming woodpeckers, and a finally a barking squirrel.

This recording was made during the annual field recording workshop of the Nature Sounds Society. This clip is a stereo (Lo/Ro) mixdown of a six channel immersive surround recording (4.0.2). The microphones are Sennheiser MKH-8000 series. This is a very quiet place—the recording was amplified 28dB for this upload.

A chorus of insects and small forest birds dominate this mid-morning soundscape from the Carman Valley near Calpine, California. The roar of a distant highway and agricultural equipment color the deep background.

This recording was made during the annual field recording workshop offered by the San Francisco-based Nature Sounds Society. This clip is a stereo (Lo/Ro) downmix of a 6-channel (4.2.0) immersive surround recording, amplified by over 24db. The microphones were all Sennheiser MKH-8000 series.

The sandhill cranes take center stage in this dawn chorus recording in the Sierra Valley Marsh near Portola, California. Cameo appearances by local livestock and vehicles on a highway several miles away.

This recording was made during the 2023 field recording workshop of the Nature Sound Society. The microphones were AT-4022 omni condensers on a Jecklin disk binaural baffle.

A long freight train, almost three miles away, provides a backdrop for a varied population of marsh birds, frogs, and a few distant cows. Recorded on a steel bridge, the recording includes many barn swallows who nest under the bridge.

This recording is a bit of an homage to Gordon Hempton "The Sound Tracker" , and his famous "Iron Horse Echoes" duet of a freight train and a meadowlark. This recording is not nearly as simple and elegant as Gordon's, but it is a portrait of a special place.

The Nature Sounds Society visits this site every year for their annual Field Recording Workshop precisely because it is such a sound-rich place to record. This stereo recording was made with a pair of Sennhieiser MKH-8020 omnidirectional microphones, mounted on a Jecklin disk baffle.