The Northern Mockingbird is an impressive singer! This species gets its name from how they mimic the songs of other birds. The more sounds the male…
Western Bluebirds are a small thrush that can sometimes be found in backyard nest boxes. Sometimes, if you sit quietly and listen, you can observe a…
Adult female elephant seals make a number of different sounds. Marine Ecologist Sarah Codde says, “So, you can hear that softer sound she makes is to…
In winter Elephant seals gather on Drake’s Beach, at Point Reyes National Seashore. Females give birth to pups and nurse them during this time.…
One bird you’ll hear around parts of Sonoma County in the summer is the Pacific-slope Flycatcher. Once you learn their song it’s easy to recognize.…
American Bullfrogs were brought to California from the eastern states because the native Red-legged frog had become so scarce. A hundred and…
I’m up here at Jack London’s old property, at the London Lake. I thought we’d lend an ear to the Winter soundscape here. The lake is nice and full.…
The Calabazas sub-watershed is one of the largest in the greater Sonoma Creek watershed. During major storms it collects an impressive amount of…
Western Gray Squirrels make a rapid tapping sound with their feet. This can be to let a predator know they’ve been spotted. Or to warn other…
Mute Swans are the ones you see in so many fairy tales. People started bringing them to North America from Europe around the late 1800s. They can…
In 1897 a physicist named Amos Dolbear published a paper called “The Cricket as a Thermometer.” He’d discovered a formula for estimating the air…
Juvenile Great-horned Owls beg for food from adults by making raspy sounding screeches. In the Fall they’re learning to hunt, but they still beg for…
As the moon rises a Gray Fox barks. Her voice reverberates across a small field of Coyote Brush and grass. Another Gray Fox responds in the distance.…
The sound of crickets all singing together is sometimes referred to as an orchestra. Late summer and fall is the time when the cricket Orchestras…
If you listen closely to this soundscape you’ll hear a low sound that sounds a little like “ker-plunk, ker-plunk...” That’s a species of bird called…
Every spring and summer the Ash-throated Flycatcher’s distinctive voice contributes to soundscapes across the West, from Texas to California. But by…
Harbor seals spend up to 70% of their life underwater. Their aquatic home can sound strange and even abstract to our ears. In this recording from…
Marsh Wrens are about the size of a sparrow. They’re a rusty-brown color, with black and white markings that resemble eyebrows. These were recorded…
The Swainson’s Thrush is one of those birds that you’re more likely to hear than see. If you paddle along the south bank of the Russian River…
We’re back at the headwaters of Sonoma Creek, in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park listening to Downy Woodpecker chicks. We were last here in winter, and…
Springtime at London Lake, in Jack London State Historic Park, is alive with the sound of many species of birds and insects.
The Varied Thrush's song has been described as haunting, ethereal, and mysterious. Listen, and you might just hear the spirit of the old growth…
By the end of his second month the male Bewick's Wren has found his own unique Voice. This will be the song he sings for his entire life!
Red-breasted Nuthatches can be found in parts of Sonoma County. You can sometimes hear them in Annadel State Park. The next time you visit your…
Deep down in their DNA Black-tailed Deer are wired to be on alert for predators. When a mountain lion or say, a bobcat is nearby, Black-tailed Deer…
They're small, and hard to see at night. But when you hear that bouncing ball rhythm coming from the forest, you'll know it's a Western Screech-Owl!…
Mourning Doves get their name from the sound they make. People sometimes describe it as being sad, or mournful, so that's why naturalists have named…
Red-winged Blackbirds have a strong and clear voice. Their songs and calls easily carry over water and across fields. The classic Red-winged…
The real power of quietude is that it can speak so deeply to our hearts. Like in this moment on the Russian River, on a rainy winter’s day.
Many species of bird seem to be making good use of the restored riparian habitat along the Petaluma River, in the Denman Reach open space area.
Pacific Treefrog sounds range from quiet to very loud! The males vocalize to establish territory, and also to attract females. Listen as their chorus…
The headwaters of Sonoma Creek, in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, is a place of many moods. In the Spring it’s alive with the sound of birds and…
Daytime transitions into night along the shore of Lake Suttonfield, in the Valley of the Moon. Great-horned Owls, Acorn Woodpeckers, Crickets, and…
There’s something special about being in a Redwood forest when it’s raining. Even a second growth Redwood forest, like here in Jack London State…
Spend a minute in the Bishop Pine Forest near Tomales Bay on an October morning. How many birds can you pick out from the avian symphony?
Turkeys were introduced into California in the second half of last century as a trophy hunting bird.
Cooper's hawks are smaller than the red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks. They've evolved to maneuver between the tight branches and other obstacles…
There's something about the steady rhythm of the northern pygmy owl's song that just seems to invite us into the deeper mysteries of the forest.
Hear the most recent installment of Ear to the Wild with Jack Hines.
Ear to the Wild with Jack Hines brings you soundscapes with a rich auditory perspective on the sounds of nature in the North Bay Presented by KRCB.
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In soundscape ecology we think of basically, three different categories of sound. One of those, and really the first, is geophony. It can be, really, quite musical, and here’s a good example of it. This is Sonoma Creek, in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. And we’ve gotten a lot of rain; it’s mid-February, 2025. And, so the creek’s flowing quite well, and there’s this great low frequency plunging sound of the water. And then there’s the higher frequency stuff. So, let’s just give a listen to the musicality of this geophony at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.
