BTS#13: Great Wass Island Nature Sounds
Capturing the sounds of one of nature’s finest jewels.
Introduction
Acquired by The Nature Conservancy in 1978, the Great Wass Island Preserve is a true gem of downeast Maine.
The island projects farther from the coast of Maine than any other land mass in Maine, giving the preserve a unique climate ideal for diverse plant and animal communities to thrive.
The climate is caused by the mixing of the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, producing a cool, humid oceanic atmosphere.
Rare plants found growing on the island include:
Beach head iris (Iris hookeri)
Marsh felwort (Lomatagonium rotatum)
Bird’s-eye primrose (Primula laurentiana)
Jack pine (Pinus banksiana)
Baked-apple berry (Rubus chamaemorus)
Ecosystems include:
Coastal plateau bogs
Maine’s two largest jack pine woodlandspristine open headlands
Black spruce rocky woodlands
Maritime spruce-fir-larch forests
Notable wildlife species:
Razor bills (Alca torda)
Harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)
Purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima)
Bald eagles
Crowberry blue butterfly (Plebejus idas empetri)
Rumbur’s forktail dragonfly (Ischnura ramburii)
Spotwinged glider dragonfly (Pantala hymenaea)
The diversity of life on the island, its remoteness, and low population looked like a great opportunity for capturing pure nature sounds…so I set out on an adventure!
Video
The Behind The Sounds (BTS) video for this trip is available to my supporters on Patreon.
The BTS series is a resource for learning field recording techniques, advice, methodology, and gear selection and set up.
Each episode covers one recording expedition.
It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to film these informative videos in the field and edit them in post production.
To watch this Behind The Sounds episode and the full series to date, consider becoming a Patreon. If you do, you’ll also receive my Field Recording For Beginners eBook, free downloads of my nature sound albums, and the opportunity to Zoom with me to ask questions, nerd out on gear, or receive critiques on your work.
Sounds
In total, I recorded 12.5 hours of audio on the island. Out of that total, 3 hours and 57 minutes was noise pollution free.
The BandCamp album represents the sonic highlights from the trip as a whole.
Below, you’ll find an interactive tour of my trip made possible thanks to an ArcGIS Story Map.
Scroll on the title page “Great Wass Island” to read more details about some of my favorite recordings from the trip.
Be sure to unmute the background audio so you can listen while you read!
To open the Story Map in a new tab for the full display, click here.
Photos
Final Thoughts
Despite facing a tremendous amount of noise pollution during my day of exploring Great Wass Island, the trip still blessed me with many hours of noise-pollution-free, pure nature sounds of a diverse and unique environment.
As someone who loves the sounds of the forest and the sea, but gets easily sunburned, Great Wass Island is the perfect destination for me. When the sun gets too hot, I can retreat into the forest and still experience the sound of distant crashing waves.
Support Acoustic Nature
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As a thank you for your support, Patreon supporters receive a copy of Field Recording For Beginners, exclusive access to the full Behind The Sounds video series, nature sound library downloads, and more.
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Thanks for reading,
-Jared
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