Sitka Nature

A trip in mid-November interrupted my recording habit, and it took a while to get back into it. Things seem to be pretty quiet most nights, and I decided to collapse a few of the highlights from the few nights in November I recorded but did not yet post.

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A Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Red-breasted Nuthatch trade calls. This was one of the last times I heard a nuthatch around the house, though I have heard them elsewhere in town, since. Recorded the morning of 11 November.

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After my return, the Bald Eagles seemed to be the first birds to greet the day. Some mornings they are perched in the trees right behind the house. Recorded morning of 29 November.

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The night of the 29-30 November, was a busy one for Marbled Murrelets. There are two clips on this recording, the first one sounds like the bird was quite close, and if I’m interpreting the sound correctly, there’s the smear of an echo with it. The second was from 10 or 15 seconds later, more distant. Perhaps the same bird on a return flight? Recorded at 03:28 am.

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Chestnut-backed Chickadees are reputed to be cheerful even in foul weather. This one didn’t seemed to have its spirits dampened by the chilly November rain.

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Ravens make a wide variety of different calls. On this recording there are three different clips with 4 different types of calls in the foreground (and another in the far background). Perhaps some day I’ll come up with descriptive names for the different ones I record. Recorded morning of 30 November.

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More Raven calls, these from the morning of 1 December. This clip features what I might call the frog croak call as well as the more typical caw.

It was a quiet night overall. I suspect this will be the case for much of the winter. The most interesting thing I noticed was a Bald Eagle calling some distance away a little after midnight. Perhaps it was disturbed by something, or maybe just had a bad dream.

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I did not hear much through the steady rain. There was an otter a little before 4am, then more otters and mystery calls between 5 and 5:30. One of the mystery calls was the shorebird-like calls. There was more than one call this time, but none of them were as loud or clear as the clip I posted a few days ago.

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River Otter Mystery Calls: I’m still puzzled by these River Otter/Mystery Calls. In this clip, it seems as though there’s an echo effect smearing the call somewhat, though in the very last call, there is not really any echo. It’s hard for me tell for sure if the final call is the same as the earlier ones, though it seems like maybe it is.
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River Otter and Mystery Calls: Recorded only 5 minutes or so after the previous clip, this starts out with what I’m pretty confident is a River Otter. About halfway through, the calls change to the mystery calls that sound kind of like gulls to me.
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Early Rising Bald Eagle: This Bald Eagle probably spent the night in a tree behind the house. It was up early on a rainy Sunday, though given the time change last night, it was not as early as it might have otherwise seemed. Recorded at 06:37.
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Mystery Call: This sounds like a duck or a Great Blue Heron. Recorded at 02:23. Download Mystery Call

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Hail Falling: There was a small hail storm early this morning. Recorded at 06:18. Download Hail Falling

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Bald Eagles: A couple of Bald Eagles calling in the back yard. Recorded at 08:05. Donload Bald Eagles