Wild Mountain Echoes is about connecting to nature through sound. Listening to birdsong and other natural sounds helps reduce stress and anxiety, and increases concentration and learning. The following recordings are full of the inspiring and healing sounds of wild nature, and can be used with headphones for relaxation (great on a plane!), or set as background music while working on your computer. They can also be used for practicing your bird identification skills.
Many of the recordings on my blog are linked to my Soundcloud site. Feel free to stream the recordings from there.
Albums are available at my Bandcamp page for purchase.
These are pure nature recordings – no instrumentals. They have been edited to reduce any anthropogenic sounds. Recordings are provided in high quality cd format (mp3, 44kHz, 16 bit, 320 kbs stereo).
All recordings are copyright Wild Mountain Echoes and may not be used without permission. If you are interested in licensing sounds, please contact me.
Southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico lie in an incredible biological crossroads. Here a small archipelago of mountain ranges lie between the Rocky Mountains of the US and the Sierra Madre of Mexico. The area also divides the Sonoran Desert to the west from the Chihuahuan Desert to the east. Components of all four ecosystems can be found here, creating an incredible amount of biodiversity in both plants and animals. Total time 67 minutes.
The Great Basin includes a large chunk of the western United States, and lies between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. All rivers that drain into the Great Basin never leave – they just disappear into the sand or settle into salty playas. It’s a relatively unpopulated area, with the few settlements of any size (Reno, Salt Lake City) on the outskirts. I’ve been exploring some of these remote mountain ranges and river valleys, and the following recordings represent a sound journey from west to east. Total time 66 minutes.
Humans have been falling asleep to the droning of insects since they became human. The repetitious mating songs of crickets, tree crickets, bush crickets, katydids and other singers naturally relaxes us (unless it’s house crickets inside your house). The following recordings present some afternoon and evening choruses of crickets in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Total time 65 minutes.
The Sonoran Desert occupies the southern portion of Arizona (with a version extending west into California), but most of it lies in the northwestern portion of Sonora, Mexico. It is a hot, dry, but amazing lush desert, as it is subject to flooding rains during the summer – the exact time when plants need it the most. Mild winters and rainy summers support a tremendous biodiversity, including the giant saguaro and cardon cacti, and a rich bird and mammal flora. Total time 58 minutes.
Many of us are drawn to the primordial sounds of ocean waves, pounding on the rocks, rattling gravel shores, or whispering through the sand. Listen carefully and every stretch of beach or cliff is different, every tide has a slightly different message. Oregon is known for its wild and rocky coastline and the constant pounding of the Pacific Ocean. Total time 62 minutes.
I’ve long been fascinated by the way sounds interact with the natural environment, especially echoes and reverberations. Over the years I’ve collected some beautiful examples of these resonant atmospheres, from a variety of places – lakes, canyons, and burned forests. Total time 62 minutes.