One thing I look forward most as the snow melts and the flowers start blooming is the return of the dawn chorus. This natural phenomenon occurs in the early morning and is a collective singing of birds as they welcome the start of a new day. During the dawn chorus, birds sing to defend their territories, attract mates, and communicate with their flock. The chorus begins just before the first light of dawn and can last for several hours, with different species of birds joining in at differing times. It truly is one of the most beautiful sound collective that exists in nature. 

Welcome to the latest episode of the Nature is my Jam Podcast! I am a firm believer in the meditative and restorative benefits of simply listening to moving water, especially the sound of waves crashing onto a remote beach. This week, I am uploading over 2 hours of a recent recording done at the Peterson Road Beach at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Within the Platte Plains section of the lakeshore, this area features gently rolling hills, mature forests and wide expanses of beach that are rarely crowded. On the night of this recording, I had the entire beach to myself for around 4 hours, except for one person walking his dogs for a few minutes. I let the field recorder run and spent the time hiking on the beach to see what the melting ice might reveal. 

Greetings! Let’s talk about the barred owl mating season in northern Michigan. It’s a pretty exciting time for these nocturnal birds, and things can get lively out there in the forest. Mating lasts from February to April. The male barred owls become incredibly vocal during this period and create various sounds to draw in the female barred owls. They will use loud noises such as hooting, barking, and screaming in order to make their thoughts and feelings known. We humans, much like many other species, take the time to groom ourselves before heading out on a night of revelry and adventure.

Greetings one and all. We have returned from a brief hiatus after the passing of Rhonda’s Dad to venture out to the Boardman River for a hydrophone recording. Hydrowhat? A hydrophone is a specialized microphone used to capture the hidden sounds of aquatic environment that happen beneath the surface of the water. Unlike traditional microphones that are designed to pick up sound waves traveling through the air, hydrophones are engineered to detect sound waves transmitted through the water. These fascinating devices work by converting changes in underwater pressure caused by sound waves into electrical signals.