Recording Beaver Sounds On A High Elevation Pond
Join me on my favorite field recording trip yet, where I hunt beaver sounds in the Chattahoochee Nat’l Forest!
During spring of 2021, I spent 5 nights camping in and recording the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia (4/18 - 4/23). Specifically, I was at the Lake Conasauga overflow campground.
Please enjoy this presentation of one of the most peaceful places on Earth.
Lake Conasauga
Lake Conasauga is an artificial lake that is very popular with fishing people and camping families. Due to this popularity, I knew I didn't want to camp on the lake itself and found myself at the overflow campground about a half mile deeper into the forest.
The overflow campground was quiet, empty, and was the location of the songbird trailhead; a trail leading to a mountain pond created by beavers. The area around the pond is managed by the Forest Service for maximum bird diversity.
As shown on the map above, the location is about 5 miles from any main road. Also, the last leg of the trip is a 12 mile gravel road that took an hour to traverse because of how windy and pothole-ridden it was.
Behind The Sounds
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 and the opportunity to Zoom with me to ask questions, nerd out on gear, or receive critiques on your work.
Trip Goals
As with all of my nature field recording trips, my goal was to capture noise-pollution-free sounds of the natural world. Each location I visit presents unique recording opportunities. These can be things like unique wildlife species, weather events, or soundscapes during different seasons. After exploring this location for a day, I knew that my focus would be beavers.
The beavers at the mountain pond made their homes in the bank, instead of the more common lodge homes that are typically inaccessible without a boat or other watercraft. This gave me the opportunity to record close proximity beaver sounds.
My number one goal was to record the sound of a beaver eating wood. This would be a challenge because of how quiet I expected the sound to be and also the difficulty in getting my microphones close enough to capture it.
Recording Gear & Sounds
In total, I setup 7 drop rigs and several other attended recordings. See photos below.
LS-10 w/SASS (1)
During my first night in the Chattahoochee National Forest, I setup a drop rig near a pool of water with lots of wildlife tracks in the mud. I hoped to record the sound of animals coming to the water to drink during the night.
At the strike of midnight, my drop rig captured the sound of what I believe are fighting beavers. Although, it also sounds like bobcats? I'm really not sure.
I'm thinking its beavers based on the habitat. This recording was made near a mountain pond with a very active and large population of beavers. If you have more experience with these animals, please leave a comment.
Then, just 10 minutes later at 12:10am, my microphones captured the sound of a deer running down to the water and then smelling the mic!
Tascam DR-05X w/EM272 Stereo Pair
One evening, I setup a Tascam DR-05X with a stereo pair of EM272 capsules. My intention was to record the sound of beavers entering and exiting the water near this highly trafficked area. Instead, I got a nicely detailed recording of a bird fluttering around inside the bush. I never knew bird wings produced so much low frequency noise!
Later in the evening, the Tascam also recorded an American Toad joining the night time chorus of spring peepers.
LS-10 w/SASS (2)
After being awakened by a barred owl extremely close to my tent for two nights in a row, I decided to setup a drop rig to capture the incredible sound.
To do so, I bungie-corded my SASS microphone on a tree when I thought the owl likely perched at night and hoped for the best.
Most of the night was extremely quiet as 30 mph winds kept most animals in hiding (including me in my tent). Somehow, I was able to capture this sound without any wind distortion. I must have angled the SASS microphone perfectly because I know the 2 layers of winter hats for wind protection would not be sufficient to face these winds head-on.
Luckily, around 2am the winds died down to 0-2 mph.
At 6:26am the owl woke me up like an alarm clock only this time I was ready and captured the moment.
When I listen to this recording, I can't help but smile and laugh because the owl sounds so happy and proud of itself to be waking me up.
LS-10 w/SASS (3)
This recording was made on a wooded boardwalk that jutted out into the mountain pond created by beavers. This recording served as an acoustic scouting report of the pond. From this drop rig, I learned what wildlife species exist on the pond, where they call from, and at what times.
During this windy night, my microphones captured pickerel frogs, spring peepers, barred owls, and beaver tail slaps. The recording below is a nice ≈ 10min recording of this ambience.
D100 w/SASS
On my last night I threw my best gear at the beavers. That meant setting up my D100 and SASS microphone down on the boardwalk overlooking the mountain pond.
This was perhaps my most magical night of field recording yet. 0-2 mph winds and lots of beaver activity close to my microphones!
The first recording is a condensed highlight reel of 6 beaver tail slaps that all happened within a one-hour period.
The next recording features the sound of a beaver swimming, blowing bubbles, tail slapping, and even making vocalizations towards the end of the clip.
The final recording is my favorite. A beaver gnawing on a piece of wood!
Final Thoughts
This trip was the longest period I've ever gone with zero human interaction in my life. From Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, the only people I saw were driving by the campground on the gravel road, and even then there were few vehicles.
This area within the Chattahoochee blessed me with so many amazing experiences and sounds. By my last day I was filled with so much love and appreciation for the land. I've never felt more connected with our planet.
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Thanks for reading,
-Jared
