American Alligator Vocalizations, Mother and Hatchlings, SMNWR

 Three minutes of early morning female mother alligator vocalization with her juveniles in a shallow primarily freshwater depression type pond near Ring Dike and Cedar Creek east of Stoney Bayou Pool in the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge. 

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Alligator Vocalizations, May 2023

May 2023. Sony PCM M10 recorder, Clippy EM272Z1 stereo microphones, windbubbles & drybags. One way I differentiate between male and female adult alligator bellows, besides seeing the alligator, is through spectrogram analysis. Male bellows tend to have more infrasound (usually 16 to 20Hz) components to their bellow than females. I know this gator was a mother because of her interactions with the hatchlings. Carolina wren and Eastern Wood-Pewee calls can be heard in the background as well as Southern Cricket frogs and Green Tree Frogs.

Nature Healing; Immersed With Frog & Wading Bird Night Calls, 4 hours

 Doing field-recording & nature audio immersion has helped me manage and heal both my aortic dissection symptoms and my kidney cancer.  Not only do I find immense pleasure in hiking far into the wilderness to place the recorders in isolated habitat, but processing the audio and then listening to the languages of nature makes me feel like I am cloaked with a snug, weighted blanket woven by Gaia.

I really enjoy this one audio clip and think you would enjoy listening to it also.

Four hours of mid-May post-sunset amphibian calls across the wide, tidally influenced West Goose Creek marsh in the Wakulla District of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The audio begins around 7pm EST and continues to 11 pm EST during a light drizzly rain. Recorded frogs include pig frogs (Rana grylio), leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus), green tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) and others. Herons and other wading birds can be heard in the background occasionally and the periodic aircraft engine noise passing overhead. The wide open marsh is covered with black needlerush (Juncus spp.) and crimson marsh mallow (Hibiscus coccineus). Our Sony D10 recorders equipped with Clippy stereo microphones protected with windbubbles and dry bags were placed about 2 meters above the saturated ground secured in evergreen branches of wax myrtle shrubs (Morella cerifera).

Drizzly Marsh Night, 4 hours Nature Audio

Full Moon Tidal Creek Flow, Frogs, Shorebirds & Crickets

 Spring full moon tides are usually much higher and lower turning gentle flowing brackish creeks into rushing rivers. This audio is one hour of outgoing tidal flow's rushing water sounds along with Pig Frogs, Leopard Frogs, a few Green Tree Frogs calling.

One hour ASMR Nature Bathing Audio, Full Moon Tidal Flow, SMNWR

Shorebirds, songbirds, crickets and the occasional overhead airplane and nearby fishing boat contribute to the rest of the full moon marsh audio. Recording rushing water audio is challenging however I find the sounds ground me with the earth (after all our bodies are mostly water).

The Pig Frogs are the perfect bass accompaniment while Leopard Frogs call with out their soprano melodies. I hear Red-winged Blackbirds throughout along with a number of shorebirds. Mole crickets and Southern Field Crickets round out the recording.

The St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is always in earth & wildlife orchestra mode. Sony PCM M10 recorders, Clippy mics, Windbubbles & dry bags.

March 2023 Marsh Leopard & Pig Frog Sunset Calls, Field Recording, Forest Bathing

One hour Pig and Leopard Frog Calls, SMNWR

 One hour March 2023 sunset frog calls consisting mostly of Leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus), Pig frogs (Rana grylio), a few Green tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) with Southern Field Crickets & the strange calls of Marsh Moorhen calls scattered throughout the audio. Audio collected during an overnight recording session in a dropbag set comprised of Sony PCM M10 recorder, LOM MikroUsi microphones, windbubbles & camo-type drybags. Audio location was adjacent the Florida Trail segment running west of East River Pool in the St. Marks National Wildlife refuge.

Leopard Frog Calls from St Marks National Wildlife Refuge, 3 hours

 Hiking way into the coastal swamps here in Florida to set up my audio equipment for overnight wildlife recording is one of the significant ways I manage my health. The relaxation to my body and mind is indescribable. When out in nature I am awed by the immensity of the earth's vast expanses rich in diversity, color, textures, smells and sounds. 'Forest (or marsh in my case) bathing' is truly healing.

Sound Cloud link to 3 hours of Leopard Frog calls from SMNWR

Here is a link to one of my latest recordings, an overnight marsh pond collection of frog calls. I find this audio to be quite relaxing and have been playing for background ASMR throughout the days. Hope you find healing, enjoyment and relaxation in Mother Nature's symphony! Over three hours primarily of Southern Leopard Frogs, Lithobates (Rana) sphenocephala and southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens from the edge of a fresh water shallow marsh pond in the SMNWR. Leopard frogs are one of the most common types of frogs in Florida. Much of the habitat in the SMNWR where I normally record is a mix of fresh and saltwater. This particular area where the recording was collected was primarily freshwater. Leopard frogs however are one of the more salt tolerant of Florida frog species. The nights are still cool here so mating season has not fully arrived. Rather than the typical frantic mating calls of late spring, the calls here are of a more nuanced conversational type. Audio recorded from 9pm to 10pm February 18, 2023 with Sony PCM M10 and Clippy stereo microphones, windcovers and drybags.

Green Heron Dawn Flight Calls, SMNWR

One minute May 2022 sunrise heron, most likely green heron, Butorides spp., flight calls from out of the sawgrass marsh area east of Lighthouse Road and north of Headquarters Pond in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Other birds include the mourning dove and red-winged blackbirds. Pig frogs, southern field crickets and wrens may also be heard. Sony PCM D100 recorder, LOM Mikro Usi microphones, windbubbles and drybags.

Gulf Breezes, Crickets and Palm Fronds

 Over twenty minutes of Gulf of Mexico salty breezes blowing through sabal palm (Sabal palmetto) fronds above a black rush (Juncus roemerianus) & cordgrass(Spartina alterniflora) marsh along a remote coastline of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Field crickets (Gryllus spp.) can be heard through the audio recording. Peaceful ASMR generating ambiance of nature's coastal breezes. Sony PCM M10 recorder (24 bit 96 kHz) and LOM MikroUsi microphones, furry windshields and dry bags. 9pm.

Gulf Breezes, Crickets and Palm Fronds #ASMR #Ambient #SMNWR

November 31st Overnight Audio, Marsh Shoreline, SMNWR

 

Into the Saw Palmetto dominated pine flatwoods to the marsh waterline where I'll set up recorders for overnight audio collection

An hour of sunlight left, heading into the wet saw palmetto dominated pine and cypress lined sloughs to set up Sony recorders for overnight field recordings. Lots of migratory birds have made their way to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and they are quite vocal after dark & just before sunrise. I enclose the recorders set at 24 bit/96000 (50% gain) in drybags and cover the stereo mics (PIP power lav type, usually MikroUsi or Clippy) with fuzzy wind covers. Hang the drybags on a tree branch, draping mics over branches or using a wire hair tie place around trunk with a binaural mic arrangement. So excited to go back out at sunrise & collect recorders. Not quite like sleeping under the stars but listening to the night sounds of the marsh & flatwoods is healing. Check out bio link for a sampling of field recordings from the marshes of SMNWR 

Coyote Pack Calls, 1 a.m. St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Coyote Pack Calls, Port Leon Road, SMNWR November 2021 1 a.m.

Coyote Pack Calls link to Soundcloud

Coyote Pack reconciliation calls after a midnight hunt in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Recorder placed in a mixed hardwood slough in the midst of a wet pine flatwoods. Sony PCM with stereo microphones in dry bags. Waxing moon, light rain. November 2021. The acoustics of the flatwoods are complex. An abundance of water surface creates wave reflection and 'echos' as well as does the fire influenced open midstory under the acres and acres of pines. Note: Coyote calls are usually a signal for the pack to regather or to call juveniles after nighttime excursions and not necessarily to signal a kill. 

Night Sounds of SMNWR's HQ Pond.

 Here is an hour long audio of freshwater pond night sounds in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Audio clip contains Anhinga (their calls are ethereal), Great Blue Heron and Common Gallinule and Catbird, calls post sunset calls from the Headquarters Pond area of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on November 12, 2021. Sony PCM recorder with Clippy272 stereo microphones in a double dry bag placed in the fronds of a Sabal palmetto tree approximately 3 meters from the shoreline. Waxing moon, moderate temperatures and scattered light rain.

Night Sounds of the SMNWR Swamps