161: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park- Redwood Tree Ears- Dawn In The Forest

161: Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park- Redwood Tree Ears- Dawn In The Forest

Author: Sound By Nature March 30, 2024 Duration: 1:00:23

This was recorded on a calm early spring morning in Murrelet State Wilderness, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Humboldt County, California. The nearby tributary stream of Squashan Creek flowed swiftly in the gully below as birds sang in the early light of dawn. First to sing on this morning was the Varied Thrush, followed by the complex, rapid song of the Pacific Wren. This part of the forest wasn't far from the ocean, and its hushed roar can be faintly heard in the distance.

I made this recording tree ears style on a Coast Redwood standing beside the Fischer Grove Trail. Though it wasn't an exceptionally enormous tree by Redwood standards, it was still very large tree of 7 or 8 feet in diameter. Spacing the microphones that far apart, with such a big tree between them, doesn't make for an "accurate" stereo recording, but making a recording that accurately reproduced what a person would hear wasn't my intention. I just thought it would an interesting experiment and fun to imagine what a Redwood tree might hear(if it had two human ears, one on either side of its trunk about four feet off the ground), and I was just plain curious about how setting the mics up like this would sound. I was initially reluctant to share this recording, but I figured what the heck, maybe you'd be interested to hear it, too.

Aside from it being experimental, another reason I was reluctant to share this recording is due to the fact that there is a bit of faint noise pollution. It wasn't the usual air traffic, and this spot is far from any highway, so I'm guessing it was the distant sound of heavy equipment working on the ongoing Redwoods Rising forest restoration project. I was definitely a little bummed out to hear it on this recording, but I don't think it takes too much away from the otherwise beautiful soundscape. If you'd like you can learn more about the forest restoration project here- Redwoods Rising - Save the Redwoods League

Interesting fact- On September 5, 1980, Redwood State and National Parks was designated a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations.


Do you like the podcast and want to help it get made? You can do just that by making a contribution! Just click one of the following links or the link at the end of this podcast description-


⁠⁠https://soundbynaturepodcast.com/donations/⁠⁠


⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/soundbynaturepodcast⁠⁠


If you can't help by making a monetary contribution, that's okay! You can also help by rating and reviewing the show on your favorite podcast platform, or by telling friends about it.


I am truly grateful to those of you that support the show monthly through Spotify for Podcasters and Patreon. Your contributions go directly into making these recordings and I deeply appreciate your help. Thank you!!!


Thanks to everybody that has rated the show, and especially those of you that have written a review on Apple Podcasts. Your kind words mean a lot!


If you'd like to see pictures of the area this was recorded, check out the Instagram or Facebook page for the podcast. Find them by searching @soundbynaturepodcast. You can also see pictures on the podcast website, ⁠⁠Sound By Nature Podcast⁠⁠. Just look for the post for this episode. And while you're there, please consider making a donation!


If you have questions or comments, please email me at soundbynaturepodcast@gmail.com


I really hope you enjoy this recording. Please do something today that helps protect the natural world for future generations. Thank you very much for listening. Stay healthy, stay safe, stay sound.


Sometimes the most profound moments come from simply listening to the world outside our windows. Sound By Nature is an invitation to pause and immerse yourself in the authentic acoustics of the natural world, curated into thoughtful audio experiences. Each episode is a dedicated soundscape, free from narration or music, capturing everything from the gentle patter of rain in an old-growth forest to the distant crash of ocean waves at dusk. It’s a resource for recentering, whether you need a backdrop for deep work, a tool for meditation, or a gentle path into restful sleep. This podcast draws from the fields of acoustic ecology and environmental science, presenting these recordings not just as ambient noise, but as a connection to the intricate and often overlooked sound environments that surround us. Tune in, put on your headphones, and let the raw, unedited symphony of the planet provide a much-needed respite from the clutter of daily life.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Sound By Nature
Podcast Episodes
Bonus! Visitors In The Night At Russian Lake [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:38
This was compiled from parts of the overnight recording I made tree ears style on a Mountain Hemlock tree standing near Russian Lake in the Russian Wilderness on a very warm summer night in mid July. The first part of th…
169: Russian Wilderness- Tree Ears- Nightfall Beside Russian Lake [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:59
This was recorded on a partly cloudy and warm summer evening beside Russian Lake in the Russian Wilderness, Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. The wind was calm and the lake was still as frogs sang in…
168: Russian Wilderness- Tree Ears- South Russian Creek [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:33:00
This was recorded on a partly cloudy and hot summer afternoon beside South Russian Creek in the Russian Wilderness, Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. I made this recording tree ears style on a Mountai…
167: Nighthawks Over Chimney Crater Lava Flow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:44:04
This was recorded early on the morning after summer solstice on the Chimney Crater lava flow in the Medicine Lake Highlands in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. Numerous Common Nighthawks were…
166: Tree Ears- Beside The North Fork Of The Sacramento River [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:47:00
This was recorded beside the North Fork of the Sacramento River on a partly cloudy and warm afternoon in late spring in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. It was made using the tree ears recordi…
Bonus! Lone Coyote Howling In The Night [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:47
This was recorded the night prior to the previous episode. I set up two drop rigs on either side of a large meadow the evening before, one of them was a tree ears set up on a Lodgepole Pine and the other was my SAAM mic…
165: Beneath Aspens At Meadows Edge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:00
This was recorded on a mostly cloudy morning under Quaking Aspen trees at the edge of a meadow in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. Kelly Rafuse (@soundbynaturepodcast) • Instagram photos and v…
164: Peaceful Night In The Forest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:12:06
This was recorded on a quiet spring night in a Ponderosa Pine dominant forest in the McCloud flats area of Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, California. The night started of breezy, then gradually became c…
163: Gold Bluffs Beach- At The Edge Of The Beach And Forest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:00:00
This was recorded on cloudy night on the margin between the beach and the forest at Gold Bluffs Beach in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Humboldt County, California. The wind, blowing offshore, picked up for a short t…
162: Gold Bluffs Beach- Low Tide in the Intertidal Zone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:50:58
This was recorded in early spring on a mostly cloudy morning at Gold Bluffs Beach in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Humboldt County, California. The wind was light and the ocean surface glassy, and I placed the micro…