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Music of Nature PodcastHi Friends! I am a professional nature recordist Author: Lang Elliott
Hi Friends! I am a professional nature recordist who travels to wild areas throughout North America and sometimes beyond. My current focus is to gather immersive binaural 3D soundscapes that effortlessly transport listeners (using headphones) into nature and have a positive and healing effect on the mind, body and spirit. Language: en Genres: Education Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Red Squirrels Harvesting Spruce Cones
Friday, 28 August, 2026
Red Squirrels Cutting and Dropping Cones; September 19, 2021, 8am, Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area near Ithaca, New York. Recorded by Lang Elliott. NOTE: This is a binaural recording; please listen with headphones! Description: One early autumn day, I visit a Norway Spruce stand and quickly discover the trees are alive with Red Squirrel activity. The squirrels are busy cutting cones from limbs high in the canopy and then dropping them to the ground. As cones fall, they hit multiple limbs, producing a series of snapping or whacking sounds before landing on the ground with a hollow, resonant thud. At times, squirrels give harsh chatters, their territorial call. I am captivated by this unique soundscape, a superb audio expression of an important stage in the squirrel’s annual cycle. More Information Red Squirrels do not hibernate and are attracted to Norway Spruce because this introduced species produces large cones containing robust seeds that provide an excellent source of nutrition during the winter months. After dropping a number of cones to the ground, a squirrel will transport them to its “midden,” which is a pile of hundreds if not thousands of cones often placed near a large tree trunk where there are hollowed-out areas among the roots. In winter, a squirrel digs into its midden to retrieve a cone and then hauls it to the top of the mound for a meal. There it snips off the cone’s scales to release the seeds, leaving only the bare central spine behind.
