S2-08 The Western Screech-Owl

They're small, and hard to see at night. But when you hear that bouncing ball rhythm coming from the forest, you'll know it's a Western Screech-Owl!

S2-07 A Mourning Dove at Dusk

Mourning Doves get their name from the sound they make. People sometimes describe it as being sad, or mournful, so that's why naturalists have named them the Mourning Dove. Their gentle cooing add ssomething special to the soundscape!

S2-06 Red-winged Blackbirds Singing Conk-la-Ree!

Red-winged Blackbirds have a strong and clear voice. Their songs and calls easily carry over water and across fields. The classic Red-winged Blackbird song sounds like they're singing "conk-la-ree, conk-la-ree."

S2-05 Russian River Quietude #1

The real power of quietude is that it can speak so deeply to our hearts. Like in this moment on the Russian River, on a rainy winter’s day.

S2-04 Restored Habitat at Denman Reach

Work’s been done at Denman Reach to restore riparian habitat along the River. The nearby roads are noisy, of course. But the birds do seem to be making good use of their new habitat in the Denman Reach open space area!

S2-03 Pacific Treefrogs in Full Chorus

Pacific Treefrog sounds range from quiet to very loud! The males vocalize to establish territory, and also to attract females. Once they get going it's called a chorus.

S2-02 The White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatches get their name from the way they crack open seeds. They wedge the seed into a nook in the bark of a tree and tap at it with their beak until they hatch it open. Listen to this small flock of White-breasted nuthatches calling and tapping in the trees.

S2-01 The Headwaters of Sonoma Creek in Winter

The headwaters of Sonoma Creek, in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, is a place of many moods. In the Spring it’s alive with the sound of birds and insects. But now, in the winter, it's hushed, and subdued.

S1-40 Rainfall in a Redwood Forest

Redwood forests are strong and resilient, but they need time and the rain that comes each Winter to grow. Over the last hundred and twenty-five years this one has gradually become a forest again.

S1-39 The Coming of Night at Lake Suttonfield

Daytime transitions into night along the shore of Lake Suttonfield, in the Valley of the Moon. A pair of Great-horned owls seem to serenade the twilight from further up the slope. Their hoots reverberating out across the lake.

S1-38 The Bishop Pine Forest of Tomales Bay

Let’s take a minute to visit the Bishop Pine forest of Tomales Bay. It’s an October morning, and the birds are really singing!

S1-37 Wild Turkey Adults and Chicks

Spring is the mating season for wild turkeys, and that familiar call that reverberates over fields and valleys means the males are gathering up harems of females.

S1-36 The Cooper's Hawk

Cooper’s Hawks are smaller than Red-tailed and Red-shouldered hawks. And they’ve evolved to maneuver through the tight branches and other obstacles of the forest as they hunt.

S1-35 Northern Pygmy Owl at Dusk

There’s something about the steady rhythm of the Northern Pygmy Owl’s song that just seems to invite us into the deeper mysteries of the forest.

S1-34 Tule Elk Bugling at Tomales Point

Certain sounds really add to the mystery of a place. Such is the case with the sound of the Tule Elk bugling at Tomales Point, in Pt Reyes National Seashore.

S1-33 Canada Geese Landing at Ledson Marsh

Canada Geese stop to rest and feed at ponds, lakes, rivers, fields, and marshes. Like here at Ledson Marsh, in Annadel State Park, where we hear other birds singing as the Canada Geese come in for a landing.

Ear to the Wild: 20 Locations, 53 Episodes, 1.5 Years!

In 1.5 years of producing the Ear to the Wild radio program we’ve completed 53 episodes, from 20 different locations in the North Bay Area.

S1-32 Vaux’s Swifts

Imagine a tall chimney with hundreds of small birds whirling above it. That’s what Vaux’s Swifts do when they’re getting ready to roost for the night at the Rio Lindo Adventist Academy, in Healdsburg!

S1-31 Hooded Orioles Near Sonoma

It’s always exciting to see a Hooded Oriole! Especially the males, with their black mask, and bright gold hood and chest…

S1-30 Acorn Woodpeckers

Once known as the California Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpeckers are a prominent member of oak woodland communities throughout the state.