October 2013

Nature’s Symphony
In the past we have talked about the magic of More Mesa – its plants, animals and habitats, experienced through their sounds, sights and scents. While individual sounds – bird calls, seal sounds, coyote calls, etc are often heard, they are all small parts of the overall “soundscape” of More Mesa.   More Mesa, like every habitat on earth, has a unique sound signature of its own.

Bernie Krause has been recording soundscapes for many years, and has categorized the various components as:

• Non-biological sounds that occur in any given habitat; i.e. wind, waves and creeks
• Sounds generated by all the organisms in the habitat; i.e. birds, animals, insects and reptiles
• Sounds generated by humans; i.e. conversations, people talking on cell phones, bicycles, dogs barking and planes flying overhead.

Early morning and late afternoon usually offer the best times for hearing a rich and varied soundscape; raptors hunting, young calling, other birds preparing to roost, the sea breeze and the grasses rustling.  Below is just a snippet of what can be heard, as given in Bernie Krause’s Ted Talk below: