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Soothing Sounds of the Smokies
New - Scroll to the bottom of the page to download a free bonus track that is only available through this site!!
This is a CD of recordings that were made in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park primarily during the spring and summer months. If you've ever been to the park, then you know that this is when the park receives a large portion of its annual visitors. This made capturing clean recordings fairly difficult.
Below is a player that will allow you to sample each of the tracks, and will also link you to iTunes if you wish to shop there. You can also find the CD on Amazon.com, Spotify, X-Box Live, Zune, Rhapsody, emusic, Google Play, and many other music download outlets. If you're interested in an actual compact disc, you will be able to purchase that through The Biology Zone Store in the near future.
Below is a player that will allow you to sample each of the tracks, and will also link you to iTunes if you wish to shop there. You can also find the CD on Amazon.com, Spotify, X-Box Live, Zune, Rhapsody, emusic, Google Play, and many other music download outlets. If you're interested in an actual compact disc, you will be able to purchase that through The Biology Zone Store in the near future.
Track 1: Smoky Mountain Thunderstorm - This track was recorded on Rich Mountain Road off of the Cades Cove Loop Road in My 2006. It was captured while I was out recording birds in the park, and I was working my way down Rich Mountain Road on my way out of the park. I got out of the truck with the intention of recording some sounds of thunder before the rain started and just happened to be recording at the moment the storm rolled in on me.
As you listen to the recording, towards the end, you can hear the birds get quiet and the rain moving towards me in the background. Anyone who has spent any time outside has been in one of those situations where you see a wall of rain coming toward you from an approaching storm, and this was one of those moments. It was basically a case of being in the right place at the right time.
Some of the birds you'll hear in the track are Wood Thrush, Carolina Wren, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Hooded Warbler.
As you listen to the recording, towards the end, you can hear the birds get quiet and the rain moving towards me in the background. Anyone who has spent any time outside has been in one of those situations where you see a wall of rain coming toward you from an approaching storm, and this was one of those moments. It was basically a case of being in the right place at the right time.
Some of the birds you'll hear in the track are Wood Thrush, Carolina Wren, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Hooded Warbler.
Track 2: Cabin Rain - This track was recorded at Henry Whitehead Cabin off of Parson's Branch Road near the Cades Cove visitor's center. It was recorded on a rainy day in March, 2008.
Track 3: Forge Creek - This was recorded just up the road from the Henry Whitehead Cabin in April, 2008. I chose to stand in the creek to get this recording, which is why it sounds like you are in the water as you listen to the track.
Track 4: Morning Meadow- This was recorded in one of the fields off Sparks Lane in Cades Cove in May, 2008. I had to walk in to this location to make sure I was as far as possible from the vehicle traffic to minimize any car sounds from the many visitors to the cove.
Some of the birds you'll hear are Field Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Meadowlark, Indigo Bunting, and Carolina Wren.
Some of the birds you'll hear are Field Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Northern Bobwhite, Eastern Meadowlark, Indigo Bunting, and Carolina Wren.
Track 5: Misty Mountaintop - Indian Gap, off Clingman's Dome Road, was the location for this recording in May, 2008. It is one of the higher elevations in this park. At these elevations, you are treated to many different bird species that you will not hear at lower elevations in the park.
The recording was made at dawn, and although it sounds like it was raining, it actually was not; it had rained the night before. If you listen close to the recording, you can hear the rain still dripping off the leaves while the birds are singing. This misty atmosphere was the reason for the name of the track.
This track includes one of the park's more colorful warblers, the Chestnut-sided Warbler, singing loudly in the foreground with his well-known mnemonic, "pleased, pleased, pleased to meet ya!" Other easy birds to hear are the Winter Wren, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, and Dark-eyed Junco. If you listen a little more closely, you'll also hear Brown Creeper, Veery, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Golden-crowned Kinglet.
The recording was made at dawn, and although it sounds like it was raining, it actually was not; it had rained the night before. If you listen close to the recording, you can hear the rain still dripping off the leaves while the birds are singing. This misty atmosphere was the reason for the name of the track.
This track includes one of the park's more colorful warblers, the Chestnut-sided Warbler, singing loudly in the foreground with his well-known mnemonic, "pleased, pleased, pleased to meet ya!" Other easy birds to hear are the Winter Wren, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, and Dark-eyed Junco. If you listen a little more closely, you'll also hear Brown Creeper, Veery, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Golden-crowned Kinglet.
Track 6: Woodland Medley - This track was recorded near the exit of the Cades Cove Loop Road in May, 2006. I was at the edge of the forest in a small field area so I was able to capture sounds of a mixture of birds including woodland, field, and edge species. Examples of species you will hear are Red-eyed vireo, Great-crested Flycatcher, Downy Woodpecker, Wood Thrush, Wild Turkey, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Bobwhite, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood Pewee, American Crow, and Carolina Chickadee.
Track 7: Morning in the Forest - This recording was also made near the exit of the Cades Cove Loop Road, but this time I was in a forest, so the field and edge species are not present. The exit is a good location for recording early in the morning because of the fact that the 11-mile, one-way loop road is closed at night. I found that if I walked in the exit to record, that I typically had a couple of hours of good recording time before cars started making their way out.
In this track you'll hear a Carolina Wren, Wood Thrush, Eastern Wood Pewee, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, and Chimney Swift. I captured this recording in May, 2008.
In this track you'll hear a Carolina Wren, Wood Thrush, Eastern Wood Pewee, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, and Chimney Swift. I captured this recording in May, 2008.
Track 8: A Spring Night - This was recorded along Sparks Lane just after sunset in a little wet area along the creek in April, 2008. This is a relatively easy and short walk from the parking area at the entrance to Cades Cove. In the spring, some of the first frogs you'll hear are the Spring Peeper and the Southeastern Chorus Frog, each of which can be found in this recording. As temperatures warm later in the spring, another amphibian that will begin calling is the American Toad, which is also included in this recording.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to 13 species of Frogs and Toads, and the three you hear in this recording are some of the most common ones you can hear as you drive around the park at night.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to 13 species of Frogs and Toads, and the three you hear in this recording are some of the most common ones you can hear as you drive around the park at night.
Track 9: A Toad's Night Out - This recording was made in basically the same location as "A Spring Night," but it was later in the season (May, 2008). If you listen closely, you can still hear Spring Peepers in the distance, but the Chorus Frogs aren't in the pool with the toads tonight. There are two toads close to the microphone and there are others way off in the distance. If you listen at :39 seconds and 3:20 seconds into the recording, you'll hear that one of the toads seems to think that the other is getting too close and gives off an aggression call that sounds like short, raspy, and croak-like.
American Toad
Track 10: Cricket Song - This recording was made along the edge of the road on the Cades Cove Loop Road just past Sparks Lane in May, 2008. At night, the rangers close the entrance and exit to the loop, but they allow you to walk or bike in. This makes a nice time for a flashlight and a relaxing evening walk.
Insects are one of those sounds that you can hear starting in early spring and going into the fall. I'm not an insect expert, but I think these are Spring Field Crickets.
Insects are one of those sounds that you can hear starting in early spring and going into the fall. I'm not an insect expert, but I think these are Spring Field Crickets.
Track 11: Forest Whisper - This is the song of the True Common Katydid along Rich Mountain Road, but you don't have to travel to this specific location to hear it. This insect can be heard at any lower elevation that has a wooded area in the park, and they are commonly heard in small neighborhoods that have a lot of trees. They make a nice, rhythmic, melodic sound that is nice to fall asleep to (just make sure you're not in the car while doing it). This recording was made in August, 2007.
Bonus Track - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is graced with many waterfalls, both large and small. This track was recorded at one of the park's smaller, but easier to get to, waterfalls: Cataract Falls. It can be accessed by a short walk from the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Because this is a busy little waterfall, the recording had to be made at an off-hour. This particular track was recorded on April 20, 2008 at 4:00AM. Click on the player below to listen to this bonus track, or download the file using the link provided.
| Cataract Falls.mp3 |