Field Recording Trip: Noise Pollution, Frogs and Katydids

Today I visited my old college town to record two of my favorite places. The first area is very diverse and features a forest, stream, waterfall and a meadow. Lots of opportunities for field recording! The majority of my day was spent exploring. It was great to get reacquainted with this spot and I spent a lot of time by the waterfall and the forested stream.

Location #1: The Meadow

Photo of my recording setup from the meadow.

By the time I got to the meadow it was about 3 o'clock. It was very windy and noisy. This location is near a main road and close to a large lake. It was a beautiful sunny day in the 80s and there were tons of boats and jet skis on the water. Between boat and truck engines and planes overhead, there was constantly human noise in the background. I still attempted to get some recordings though!

I recorded for one hour here but did not capture anything usable over a few seconds in length. Simply too much noise pollution. While my gear did its thing, I relaxed in my hammock, took a nap and did some reading. All I have to share with you from this place is a short recording of a grasshopper buzzing past my recorder.

Location #1 Field Recordings

Location #2: The Frog Pond

While I was hanging in the hammock, I discovered this small pond with green frogs in it. Every now and then, one would let out an explosive grunt. As sunset approached, I moved my recorder from the meadow to the edge of the pond (see second photo ↑). I was hoping to capture some highly directional and detailed calls. I was happy with the detail but my microphone placement could have been a little better.

While the green frogs were still warming up, some Cope’s gray tree frogs temporarily stole the show. Their call is similar to the gray tree frog’s but lower pitch and less musical sounding. You can check out both recordings below ↓.

Location #2 Field Recordings

Location #3: The Grassy Field

This was my favorite location of the day. I arrived just as the sun was setting (although it doesn’t look it in that photo) and the field was alive with the sounds of wildlife. Birds, crickets, katydids, spring peepers and southern leopard frogs all joined the chorus.

I was almost able to record some noise-free nature sounds here, but there were too many people on the roads still. It’s hard to hear the disturbances in the below recording but if you listen carefully, you’ll notice them.

Location #3 Field Recordings

Headphone users beware! A katydid starts calling directly to the front-right of my recorder @ 3:18. It is very loud and lasts until 4:00.

Trip Totals

Time in the field: 7 hours

Total audio recorded: 2.5 hours

Usable audio: 0 minutes

Final Thoughts

Despite not capturing any usable audio here, I still had a great time in nature. It was a beautiful day and my favorite part was watching the trippy patterns the stream was making (see it in slow motion in the video).

I would like to revisit this location under different conditions (and I’ll have to because I left my hammock straps still tied to the tree). I am planning to return on a Sunday morning around 6am to record the dawn chorus.

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