Return to Red Rock Lakes

On my sound recording trip last May and June, after I left Castle Gardens in Wyoming, I traveled to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southern Montana.  I’ve been here a couple of times before and it’s one of my favorite places on the planet.  The shortest route was through Yellowstone, but since I was traveling with a dog who had decided everyone outside the car was evil, I opted to avoid the crowds and took the long way through Bozeman.  I didn’t know that the highway would go right through downtown Bozeman. We arrived at lunchtime when it was crowded with people walking and biking through the area.  Poor Sage was beside herself.  So, we crawled through the traffic, finally making it back to the open road. I was stunned at the massive number of new homes and condos under construction, as well as traffic delays due to road construction. 

The clouds started to roll in as we approached West Yellowstone and the turn-off to the refuge.  By the time we arrived, the clouds were thick and ominous, and a thunderstorm soon rolled in.  The clouds and rain lasted for days, accompanied by a bitter wind.

The birds were singing like crazy, and I knew if I waited long enough, some good recording opportunities would appear.  We arrived on Tuesday, May 28, and things didn’t start to improve until late Thursday, which meant the wind died (mostly) but there were still some light showers in the area.  After several days of limited activity, and with a better forecast for Friday, I decided to risk putting some mics out. 

On the north side of the refuge is an area of sage-covered sand dunes.  This is a great area for sage birds, including Brewer’s Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Western Meadowlarks, and Sage Thrashers.  My attempts to record here several years ago was thwarted when the recorder I was using failed.  I made several attempts on this trip.  The first one suffered a battery failure in the recorder; subsequent attempts were more successful except that there weren’t many birds singing. Too early in the year, I guess.

On my way out to collect the recorder one morning, I left a mic to run along Red Rock Creek.   This stretch of creek has such a soothing sound as it winds its way through the willows:

Just south of the refuge are the Centennial Mountains, with slopes thickly covered in pine and fir.  Although most of my recording had focused on the lakes and meadows, that forest edge intrigued me. So, hiked up to the forest edge, ducked under the low hanging branches of a spruce, and strapped a couple of small mics on either side of a tree.  I placed a small recorder in a dry bag and attached it near the mics. I left it to run all night hoping it wouldn’t rain anymore.

Shortly after it got dark, a moose walked up to the mics, crashed though the lower branches and spent a few minutes snuffling the mics.  It did no damage to the mics or recorder but left me with a great recording.  Put the headphones on for this one, where you can hear the moose swallowing, tummy rumbles, and the ear-tickling sound of it sniffing the mics.

In the morning, just as the dawn chorus was starting to wind up, a bald eagle swooped in and landed in a nearby tree.  Hear the powerful wing beats and sharp calls of the eagle:

My last night at the refuge was greeted with a spectacular sunset over the lake. A couple of hours later, a light rain began, but luckily (as I had 3 sets of mics out in the field) didn’t last long.

I set up a mic near camp and in the early dawn recorded Trumpeter Swans muttering, Wilson’s Snipe winnowing, and Ruffed Grouse booming, as the Gray Catbirds and American Robins started greeting the day.  A couple of coyotes join in at the end, their voices resonating across the lake:

So, the long, cold days in the car, huddling with the dog to stay warm, were worth it. I hope to make it back to Red Rock Lakes soon, as there is so much to see and hear.