Four of us had a wonderful and unexpected trip out to Antelope Island this Saturday with Terry Tempest Williams. We did some bird-watching, marveled at the emptiness, and attempted-some better than others-to follow in Powell's footsteps and do some mapping. I think we all grew a bit more appreciative of the difficulty and intricacy of the work that he and other early topographers completed.
One of the highlights for the trip was being privileged to see the arrival of hundreds of trumpeter swans to the Great Salt Lake for a rest on their yearly migration. It was pretty incredible as they arrived, flock after flock.
I was recently forwarded an email about the Western Soundscapes project being undertaken by the library. They are recording and archiving a collection of sounds unique to the West, recognizing the "vital connection between places and their soundscapes". They currently have recordings representative of more than 70% of western bird species, plus lots of amphibians, mammals, and reptiles. They also have a special project focusing on preserving the sounds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
I've posted the links below of the Western Soundscapes Project, as well as to several of the specific bird species we saw at Antelope Island, although I couldn't find a recording of the chucker or the whistling wind that kept us chilled, and a few others that I particularly enjoyed. The Trumpeter Swan recording has a great bit of the flapping wings that Terry described. It's a fascinating website, and I recommend poking around.
The Western Soundscapes Archive
Trumpeter Swan
Rough-legged Hawk
Northern Pintail
California Gull
Canada Goose
Arctic Fox
ANWR Ice Cracking
Sunday, February 22, 2009
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1 comment:
The trumpeter swan recording certainly makes it clear how this bird got its name! The fact that some of the bird recordings (such as the rough-legged hawk) were made in ANWR reinforces the interconnections Subhankar Bannerjee brought up in our class last fall--that as distant and isolated as the northern Arctic may seem, the interconnections to the rest of the world are myriad. In truth, local is global.
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