Sounds of Northern Michigan: A Dark and Stormy Night in the the Woods

Nature Is My Jam

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Welcome to episode 20 of the Nature is my Jam podcast! We are 5 months into this journey and your support, kindness and generosity continue to amaze me. As we head into the inevitable winter of Northern Michigan, I am becoming even more excited and looking forward to the challenge of recording wildlife and nature in extreme cold and snow. There is also a sense of uncertainty since I have never recorded in the winter. I really enjoy the diversity of location and wildlife when I record, so I hope I don’t get six months of wind.

Speaking of wind….. this recording started out as a test of some new wind protection equipment for my microphone. I went out to Old Mission Peninsula (a favorite location) on a stormy night to see how the new Modular Windshield (blimp) from Rycote would fare. The windshield provides up to 30db wind noise attenuation and there is also an option to add a windjammer that adds a 20db of attenuation. That’s an insane amount of wind protection, right?

On the night I recorded, wind gusts were approaching 25-30 miles per hour, which would have been a non-starter for the Rycote BBG windshield I normally use. I think the biggest difference is that the entire microphone is encased in the blimp, which provides greater protection and minimizes the chances of wind finding its way to the stereo capsule. Its additional weight also helps in stabilizing the microphone so it doesn’t get buffeted by the wind.

The results of the new windshield speak for themselves. I had no intention of using this recording for a podcast episode, but I have been obsessing over this track for hours now and wanted to share it with you. I have been calling it the original white noise, which is perfect for sleep and meditation. The wind is intense but doesn’t overwhelm the microphone. The sound of snapping branches and the occasional chirp of crickets are also present, which adds some depth to this dark and stormy night in the woods.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks again for your continued support!

Recording Summary:

• Date and Time: 10/13/2022 | 12:00 AM
• Location: Grand Traverse County, Michigan, USA
• Landscape/Feature: Old Mission Point Park | Ridgeline facing a climax forest, which acted as a natural chute pushing the wind up the ridge
• Conditions: Warm, Rain, Wind
• Recording Device: Zoom F3 Field Recorder
• Microphone(s): Audio Technica BP 4025
• Digital Audio Workstation: Adobe Audition

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