Winter still has it’s cool and windy grip on northern Nevada, so I’m digging into the archives from last summer for some recordings to share. In July of last year, after visiting and recording in the Santa Rosa Mountains, I traveled to Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southeastern Oregon. I first visited Hart Mountain […]
Hart Mountain Summer Read More »
This summer has been unbelievable in the amount of smoke, even in areas distant from the wildfires in California, Nevada, and the Pacific Northwest. In northern Nevada, rather than the rare smoky day, a day better than “moderate” air quality was something to celebrate. During much of July and August, the air quality never got
Escaping the smoke Read More »
It’s been a hot and very smoky summer in western Nevada. I almost hate to complain, given the horrific blazes that have occurred just on the other side of the Sierras in California. Much of the smoke from those fires moves east, over the Sierras to linger in the valleys beyond. Day after day of
I was perusing the internet recently (a bad habit), when I ran across something someone posted about fireflies. I don’t remember the gist of the article, but it did remind me of a magical experience I had with fireflies last summer in the mountains of eastern Arizona. I was actually there to try to record
Starry skies and fireflies Read More »
Winter has finally arrived in northern Nevada, with colder temperatures and a few snowflakes, although not enough to get us out of a severe “snow drought.” Last week, temperatures were pushing 70 degrees F, causing the plants to start budding, and a notable increase in singing by the local house finches and Eurasian collared-doves. My
Summertime Dreaming Read More »
The Jarbidge Mountain area, in far northeastern Nevada, is considered one of the most remote areas in the lower 48. So naturally, I wanted to check it out, but was a little intimidated by some skirmishes between local ranchers and federal land managers. So when Lang Elliot, in the midst of his sound recording tour
Like many nature recordists, I’m a bit obsessed with recording the spring dawn chorus. It’s dynamic variety, changing by the minute, the day, the season, the habitat, is like candy for the ears. However, I’m almost as fascinated by the night sounds – the singing insects and amphibians, the owls, the night jars, and the
Night sounds in a desert canyon Read More »
The dawn chorus is a wonderful, natural phenomenon in which many birds do most of their singing at or before the first light of day. It is most obvious during the spring, as birds set up territories and go about attracting mates. In southern Arizona, the resident birds begin singing in February, and many are
Chasing the dawn chorus Read More »
The final days of my fall 2016 border-to-border journey I awoke to a beautiful, calm and sunny morning along Disappointment Creek in Colorado; the silence only broken by a light whisper through the sage brush and a car on the distant highway. After breakfast, I packed up the car and headed south. I made a
Changes in latitude Read More »
Days nine and ten of my Fall 2016 border-to-border road trip Following my lovely but damp night spent along the Grey’s River in Wyoming, I headed south on scenic highway 89, then across the dusty plains to Green River. From there I headed south along the western flank of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The
The beaches of ol’ Flaming Gorge Read More »
Day 8 of my border-to-border road trip. After leaving Red Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, I headed east to Yellowstone. With all the wet weather and cooler temperatures, I thought some of the crowds might have stayed away but boy, was I wrong. In spite of the weather and being in the middle of the week,
Osprey on the Grey’s River Read More »
The northern terminus of my 2-week road trip in September 2016 was just south of the Canadian border, near Polebridge, Montana. I arrived with some unsettled fall weather, with a dusting of snow on the peaks, and more rain on the way. I was there to visit my friend, Cynthia Wolf, who was working as
Listening for owls in Montana Read More »
