In late May 2005, Ted Mack and I visited Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. The park is an island of wilderness rising out of the prairie landscape, where habitats of eastern, western and northern Canada meet and mingle into a pattern of forest, grassland, hill and valley.

In dawn’s early light, Ted and I converged upon a huge marshy area surrounded by forest. Full of beaver ponds and alder patches, the marsh was home to a large variety of species. Ted ventured way out into the wetland and snagged a wonderful dawn chorus. Most impressive are the eerie winnows of a Common Snipe, a sound made by air moving through the outspread tail as the snipe swoops downward then upward in fight. Listen also for the drums of a Ruffed Grouse and the songs of numerous songbirds, including: Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Mourning Dove, Swamp Sparrow. A Pied-billed Grebe sounds off near the end. What an incredibly rich and varied soundscape:

Dawn chorus in a northern marsh with lots of Common Snipe winnows. 6am, 30 May 2005. Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba. Recorded by Lang Elliott.0:00 / 0:00

I can’t wait to get back up to Manitoba, not only to pay my respects to Riding Mountain, but also to explore the abundance of pothole ponds to the south of the park in the Minnedosa area. And then there is Poverty Plains, a great spot for finding hawk nests and the home to western species such as Brewer’s Blackbird. Have any of you ever been to any of these places?

During my first recording expedition to Florida in 1988, my buddy Ted and I camped in a low area next to a small river and were delighted when a pair of Barred Owls paid us a visit in the dark of the night. We managed to get some nice recordings as they hooted back-and-forth in a pine tree overhead, but those were the days before we began using soundscape microphones to capture the full dimensional experience. Since that first expedition, I have returned to Florida many times and recorded many Barred Owl visitations. Sometimes I think that owls are friendlier down there. It certainly seems so because about every time I camp out in a Florida swamp, the owls come visit me!

One of my favorite Barred Owl recordings is from Ocala National Forest in central Florida. I canoed down a river to a likely spot and set up camp. To my delight, when darkness arrived, I heard the squeal of a young owl (its begging call) not far from my tent. I set up my microphone and waited. A little before midnight the parents finally arrived, hooting in the distance and then up close. When they finally fed their “little one,” he screamed with considerable delight before receiving his mouthful of ecstasy (I think he got fed, but maybe not; see bottom of post):

Barred Owls hooting, Pig Frogs croaking, and an immature owl periodically giving begging sqeuals. 11:30pm, 5 June 1994, Ocala National Forest north of Orlando, Florida. Lang Elliott.0:00 / 0:00

Pretty nice, huh? I’ve shortened the recording somewhat so you can hear a good deal of the hooting and squealing. I rather like those Pig Frogs; they were sounding off from the river’s edge. The insect chorus brightens the recording … it’s not too loud is it?

As for the little one being fed, I must point out that it was pitch black and I didn’t actually see anything. But his loud and animated squeals indicate something important happened there, which I presume was him being fed by one or the other of his parents. But how could they feed him when they’re both hootin-it-up? Does anybody out there have an explanation? (Gerrit, if you’re listening, please chime in)

Having just corresponded with a friend who lives in south Texas, I’ve decided to post a soundscape from that region. I recorded the following dawn chorus in late May of 2005 in Chaparral Wildlife Management Area, which is about a 100 miles southwest of San Antonio, Texas. The refuge encompasses over 15,000 acres of South Texas Brush Country, characterized by impenetrable thickets of mesquite, acacia, prickly pear, and wild olive. Such habitat is the home of Cactus Wren, Ground Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Olive Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, and Golden-fronted Woodpecker—all of which can be heard in this soundscape:

Dawn chorus in South Texas Brush Country, 6:30 am, 20 May 2005, Chaparral WMA near Artesia Springs, Texas. Recorded by Lang Elliott.0:00 / 0:00

This is a rich and busy soundscape. A ground dove calls regularly throughout, its coos all on one pitch. In contrast, roadrunners give a series of four or more low coos that drop in pitch from beginning to end. A Cactus Wren gives it’s mechanical, rattling trills repeatedly. Listen also for the high-pitched songs of an Olive Sparrow, the individual notes speeding up from beginning to end. A single Northern Bobwhite periodically sounds off with both calls and song. I believe I hear a Northern Cardinal singing at times, but it might be a Pyrrhuloxia. A Golden-fronted Woodpecker gives a series of nasal churrs late in the recording.

Do you like this one? It is busy, yes, but it’s fairly easy on the ears (please don’t play it too loudly). It is certainly a glowing testament to the amazing diversity of birds found in the dense scrub habitat.