Sounds of Leelanau Peninsula: Lighthouse West Natural Area
09/08/22 • 35 min
I would like to thank everyone that has donated or otherwise supported Nature is my Jam by liking, following, sharing and/or subscribing to the podcast. Your support goes directly to creating future episodes and allows this podcast to be ad-free and 100% listener supported. Your kindness means the world to me and I hope you might feel inspired to explore the natural areas where you live.
Welcome to the 14th episode of the Nature is my Jam Podcast. Based on feedback from last week’s episode (and trust me, you had a lot of feedback!), we need a palate cleanser from the mesmerizing persistence of the Eastern Whippoorwill. The consensus is that we could have done with more mesmerizing and less persistence. Although I disagree, I have heard your voice.
This week, we venture out to the Leelanau Peninsula to visit the Lighthouse West Natural Area, part of the Leelanau Conservancy. While the natural area is small in stature at 42 acres, it is mighty in terms of the wildlife present and the unique geography of the area. Most notably, it is a certified bird habitat, meaning, “the native plants in this landscape support healthy bird populations by producing an abundance and diversity of insects.” This distinction is the real reason I wanted to visit this area. The fall migration will begin soon and I want to be fully prepared for those hectic couple of weeks of birding.
Next door to the Leelanau State Park, this natural area doesn’t get the tourist traffic or the noise. From the small parking lot, the trail meanders through a meadow for a short distance before plunging into a large stand of mature maple trees. It’s quite a contrast in terrain, but it changes again as the trail goes along an ancient bluff and eventually levels off into what is called a “boulder terrace”. Created eons ago, when the lake level was much higher, the terrace was a visual reminder of a different time. There is also evidence of massive boulders left by the glaciers.
As I approached the beach, the sun was just setting, and the crickets made themselves known. The sky turned a brilliant yellow and orange while the waves slowly washed ashore. It was stunning. I placed the recorder and microphone by some gnarled cedar trees, hoping to catch the ambience of the surrounding crickets and cicadas without being overwhelmed by the waves. Not to fear, I also placed a second recorder in the meadow and captured some very talkative owls and a pack of very busy coyotes. That recording will be available next week.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks again for your continued support!
Recording Summary:
- Date and Time: 9/6/2022 | 4:45 AM
- Location: Leelanau County, Michigan, USA
- Landscape/Feature: Lighthouse West Natural Area | Lake Michigan
- Conditions: Night, Light Breeze, Clear Skies, Mild Temps
- Recording Device: Zoom F3
- Microphone(s): Sonorous Objects SO.1 Microphone Pair
- Digital Audio Workstation: Adobe Audition
Thanks for listening! ❤️ Your support means the world to me. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for daily updates.
I would like to thank everyone that has donated or otherwise supported Nature is my Jam by liking, following, sharing and/or subscribing to the podcast. Your support goes directly to creating future episodes and allows this podcast to be ad-free and 100% listener supported. Your kindness means the world to me and I hope you might feel inspired to explore the natural areas where you live.
Welcome to the 14th episode of the Nature is my Jam Podcast. Based on feedback from last week’s episode (and trust me, you had a lot of feedback!), we need a palate cleanser from the mesmerizing persistence of the Eastern Whippoorwill. The consensus is that we could have done with more mesmerizing and less persistence. Although I disagree, I have heard your voice.
This week, we venture out to the Leelanau Peninsula to visit the Lighthouse West Natural Area, part of the Leelanau Conservancy. While the natural area is small in stature at 42 acres, it is mighty in terms of the wildlife present and the unique geography of the area. Most notably, it is a certified bird habitat, meaning, “the native plants in this landscape support healthy bird populations by producing an abundance and diversity of insects.” This distinction is the real reason I wanted to visit this area. The fall migration will begin soon and I want to be fully prepared for those hectic couple of weeks of birding.
Next door to the Leelanau State Park, this natural area doesn’t get the tourist traffic or the noise. From the small parking lot, the trail meanders through a meadow for a short distance before plunging into a large stand of mature maple trees. It’s quite a contrast in terrain, but it changes again as the trail goes along an ancient bluff and eventually levels off into what is called a “boulder terrace”. Created eons ago, when the lake level was much higher, the terrace was a visual reminder of a different time. There is also evidence of massive boulders left by the glaciers.
As I approached the beach, the sun was just setting, and the crickets made themselves known. The sky turned a brilliant yellow and orange while the waves slowly washed ashore. It was stunning. I placed the recorder and microphone by some gnarled cedar trees, hoping to catch the ambience of the surrounding crickets and cicadas without being overwhelmed by the waves. Not to fear, I also placed a second recorder in the meadow and captured some very talkative owls and a pack of very busy coyotes. That recording will be available next week.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks again for your continued support!
Recording Summary:
- Date and Time: 9/6/2022 | 4:45 AM
- Location: Leelanau County, Michigan, USA
- Landscape/Feature: Lighthouse West Natural Area | Lake Michigan
- Conditions: Night, Light Breeze, Clear Skies, Mild Temps
- Recording Device: Zoom F3
- Microphone(s): Sonorous Objects SO.1 Microphone Pair
- Digital Audio Workstation: Adobe Audition
Thanks for listening! ❤️ Your support means the world to me. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for daily updates.
Previous Episode
Sounds of Leelanau Peninsula: Lighthouse West Natural Area
I would like to thank everyone that has donated or otherwise supported Nature is my Jam by liking, following, sharing and/or subscribing to the podcast. Your support goes directly to creating future episodes and allows this podcast to be ad-free and 100% listener supported. Your kindness means the world to me and I hope you might feel inspired to explore the natural areas where you live.
Welcome to the 14th episode of the Nature is my Jam Podcast. Based on feedback from last week’s episode (and trust me, you had a lot of feedback!), we need a palate cleanser from the mesmerizing persistence of the Eastern Whippoorwill. The consensus is that we could have done with more mesmerizing and less persistence. Although I disagree, I have heard your voice.
This week, we venture out to the Leelanau Peninsula to visit the Lighthouse West Natural Area, part of the Leelanau Conservancy. While the natural area is small in stature at 42 acres, it is mighty in terms of the wildlife present and the unique geography of the area. Most notably, it is a certified bird habitat, meaning, “the native plants in this landscape support healthy bird populations by producing an abundance and diversity of insects.” This distinction is the real reason I wanted to visit this area. The fall migration will begin soon and I want to be fully prepared for those hectic couple of weeks of birding.
Next door to the Leelanau State Park, this natural area doesn’t get the tourist traffic or the noise. From the small parking lot, the trail meanders through a meadow for a short distance before plunging into a large stand of mature maple trees. It’s quite a contrast in terrain, but it changes again as the trail goes along an ancient bluff and eventually levels off into what is called a “boulder terrace”. Created eons ago, when the lake level was much higher, the terrace was a visual reminder of a different time. There is also evidence of massive boulders left by the glaciers.
As I approached the beach, the sun was just setting, and the crickets made themselves known. The sky turned a brilliant yellow and orange while the waves slowly washed ashore. It was stunning. I placed the recorder and microphone by some gnarled cedar trees, hoping to catch the ambience of the surrounding crickets and cicadas without being overwhelmed by the waves. Not to fear, I also placed a second recorder in the meadow and captured some very talkative owls and a pack of very busy coyotes. That recording will be available next week.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks again for your continued support!
Recording Summary:
- Date and Time: 9/6/2022 | 4:45 AM
- Location: Leelanau County, Michigan, USA
- Landscape/Feature: Lighthouse West Natural Area | Lake Michigan
- Conditions: Night, Light Breeze, Clear Skies, Mild Temps
- Recording Device: Zoom F3
- Microphone(s): Sonorous Objects SO.1 Microphone Pair
- Digital Audio Workstation: Adobe Audition
Next Episode
Sounds of Leelanau Peninsula: Open Meadow with Owls and Coyotes!
I would like to thank everyone that has donated or otherwise supported Nature is my Jam by liking, following, sharing and/or subscribing to the podcast. Your support goes directly to creating future episodes and allows this podcast to be ad-free and 100% listener supported. Your kindness means the world to me and I hope you might feel inspired to explore the natural areas where you live.
Welcome to the 15th episode of the Nature is my Jam Podcast. When this episode gets published, I will be in the upper peninsula of Michigan to observe and record the fall bird migration. The Crisp Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior is also on my list of places to visit. This will be a solo camping trip and, as usual, I am going to bring too much gear and not have enough time to visit all the sites I have on my list. Of course, that is the beauty of life in northern Michigan. There will always be an adventure to be had, no matter the day or season.
We are still at the Lighthouse West Natural Area in Leelanau County but have moved from the beach to an open meadow. Please note that I covered the area in last week’s episode so won’t repeat that information here. This meadow used to be part of a farm and still have a few apple trees mingling with the fresh growth that is quickly reclaiming the old farmland. This was another overnight recording, with Barred Owls making their presence known and a pack of coyotes making a ruckus several times throughout the night. We can also hear deer running through the brush and even sniffing the recording equipment.
You may wish to use headphones for this episode to get the full experience of being there. A few sounds are subtle and some distance away from the recording gear. Microphone placement can sometimes be a roll of the dice, and that is clear in this recording. I think if I had moved the microphone to the other side of the meadow that we would have those owls all up in our business. However, the owls are very present and I think the deer were happy that the Coyotes were in a different field.
This part of Leelanau County is fairly remote, but still has a lot of activity during the day, so night recordings work best. I sometimes wonder if I should have started a podcast devoted to air travel because I have hours of planes making their presence known at all times of the day.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks again for your continued support!
Recording Summary:
- Date and Time: 9/6/2022 | 4:45 AM
- Location: Leelanau County, Michigan, USA
- Landscape/Feature: Lighthouse West Natural Area | Lake Michigan
- Conditions: Night, Light Breeze, Clear Skies, Mild Temps
- Recording Device: Zoom F6 Field Recorder
- Microphone(s): Audio Technica BP 4025
- Digital Audio Workstation: Adobe Audition
Thanks for listening! ❤️ Your support means the world to me. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for daily updates.
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