Wild Mountain Echoes http://www.wildmountainechoes.com Connecting to nature through sounds Wed, 22 May 2013 19:31:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 The importance of bird song http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/05/the-importance-of-bird-song/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/05/the-importance-of-bird-song/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 19:31:05 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=960 A recent article in BBC News Magazine highlights some fascinating research being conducted on how tuned in we are to bird song. People find birdsong relaxing and reassuring because over thousands of years they have learnt when the birds sing … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/05/the-importance-of-bird-song/feed/ 0 Repost: Before the Whitewater-Baldy Fire http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/05/repost-before-the-whitewater-baldy-fire/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/05/repost-before-the-whitewater-baldy-fire/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 16:38:27 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=943 Note:  I’m off on a new recording expedition.  I’ll post new sounds when I return.  In the meantime, enjoy this post from last fall.  It’s very hot and dry in the Gila country again this year, and no doubt this … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/05/repost-before-the-whitewater-baldy-fire/feed/ 0 San Pedro River Soliloquy http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/san-pedro-river-soliloquy/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/san-pedro-river-soliloquy/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:05:17 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=925 It whispers, gurgles, laughs and chortles, this sliver of a creek flowing north from Mexico toward the Gila River.  On this lovely day in April, the San Pedro River still flows through the sandy banks, but within a month or … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/san-pedro-river-soliloquy/feed/ 0 A Mourning Dove Murder Mystery http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/a-mourning-dove-murder-mystery/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/a-mourning-dove-murder-mystery/#comments Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:22:19 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=902 Four species of doves nest in my neighborhood – Mourning, White-winged, Inca, and Eurasian Collared doves.  The most common nests are those of Mourning Doves.  Last spring, a pair decided to build their flimsy stick nest on top of the … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/a-mourning-dove-murder-mystery/feed/ 4 Spring in the Huachuca Mountains http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/spring-in-the-huachuca-mountains/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/spring-in-the-huachuca-mountains/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:31:50 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=890 Spring has finally arrived in the mountains of southern Arizona.  Little flowers are starting to appear, and birds are starting to sing.  Last week I took one of my favorite hikes in the Huachuca (wa-choo-ka) Mountains, up to Blacktail Pond.  … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/04/spring-in-the-huachuca-mountains/feed/ 2 Desert Waterfall http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/desert-waterfall/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/desert-waterfall/#comments Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:32:05 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=874 Any kind of water in the desert is exciting, but especially when it cascades off of the mountains.  On the other side of the Rincon Mountains from where I live in southeastern Arizona, is a lovely little valley called Happy … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/desert-waterfall/feed/ 0 Visualizing Sounds http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/visualizing-sounds/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/visualizing-sounds/#comments Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:04:12 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=840 Much of sound editing and analysis, particularly for animal sounds, is done using spectrograms.  Spectrograms are graphs that show the frequency (or pitch) on the y-axis and time on the x-axis.  The loudness of the sound is indicated by the … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/visualizing-sounds/feed/ 1 Phainopepla – the mistletoe bird http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/phainopeplathe-mistletoe-bird/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/phainopeplathe-mistletoe-bird/#comments Sun, 03 Mar 2013 22:06:05 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=823 It’s a cute little bird – the Phainopepla.  A member of the tropical Silky Flycatcher family, males are a shiny black and females a charcoal grey.  Both have red eyes and a feathery crest.   They are quite noticeable in the … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/03/phainopeplathe-mistletoe-bird/feed/ 1 The Old Windmill http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/the-old-windmill/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/the-old-windmill/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:12:25 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=807 It’s an odd spot for a windmill – up in a wooded canyon, rather than out in the open.  It’s fan barely reaches above the nearby junipers and oaks.  I don’t know how long it’s been there;  the storage tank … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/the-old-windmill/feed/ 5 Early Spring in the Sonoran Desert http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/early-spring-in-the-sonoran-desert/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/early-spring-in-the-sonoran-desert/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:17:41 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=796 The birds around my house are really getting fired up.  A week or two of seventy-degree weather (albeit interspersed with snow squalls) seems to have sent them into overdrive.  They start chirping at first light, and by 6:30 am the … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/early-spring-in-the-sonoran-desert/feed/ 1 Listening for signs of spring http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/not-quite-spring-yet-3/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/not-quite-spring-yet-3/#comments Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:16:47 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=743 The birds around my house seem to think spring has arrived. The doves, Curve-billed Thrashers, Cactus Wrens, Mockingbirds, Gambel’s Quail, and House Finches are singing up a storm. At 3,000 feet in the Sonoran Desert, the temps lately have been … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/02/not-quite-spring-yet-3/feed/ 2 The dead-end river http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/01/the-dead-end-river/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/01/the-dead-end-river/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:38:38 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=705 River speech is a concatenation of murmurs and burbles, hisses and humming, snarls, chokes, whispered asides, and violent coughs.  The voice of mountain water is always many voices, blended like the roar of the crowd, and although even before you … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/01/the-dead-end-river/feed/ 2 Bouncing off the sky http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/01/bouncing-off-the-sky/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/01/bouncing-off-the-sky/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:18:12 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=689 The effects of the atmosphere on sound transmission can be quite profound.  I found this out recently when I was recording along the Carson River, near Carson City, NV.  I first set up my recorder along the river on December … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2013/01/bouncing-off-the-sky/feed/ 6 Tempestuous Joshua Trees http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2012/12/joshua-trees/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2012/12/joshua-trees/#comments Sun, 30 Dec 2012 17:32:00 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=616 Joshua Trees in Joshua Tree National Park. A recent drive from Tucson to Carson City included miles and miles of Joshua Trees – giant iconic yuccas of the Mojave Desert.   At the southern end of their range, they can be … Continue reading →

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]]> http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2012/12/joshua-trees/feed/ 2 Just Listen http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2012/12/just-listen/ http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/2012/12/just-listen/#comments Sat, 22 Dec 2012 22:57:53 +0000 Christine Hass http://www.wildmountainechoes.com/?p=604 In this frantic holiday season, full of hustle and bustle, parties and socializing, love and loss, excessive consumerism, and endless Christmas carols, sometimes it helps to stop and   just    listen. Take a break and step outside for a moment.  Close your eyes.  Take … Continue reading →

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