Category: Olson, Curt/Archives

Nature Recordists Campout

Trumpet Swans in water, photo by Steve RussellThe Midwest Nature Recordists Campout took place in the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, “30,000 acres of wetlands, brush prairies and forests was bustling with nesting and migratory birds, deer, foxes and wolves” (photographs © Steve Russell).

Audio recordists gather for one weekend each May at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in southwestern Wisconsin, and create a 24hr timeline of the avian action. Check David Michael’s “Upper North Fork Flowage (composite)” and these “Paul Dickinson: Tracks.” Curt Olson of Track Seventeen recorded the recordists at play:

“2010 Midwest Nature Recordists Campout at Crex Meadows” (9:30 mp3):

(Curt also made HV and Weekend America a sound-portrait of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.)

Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon

Day 1 of the Iditarod is tomorrow. One of the qualifying races was held a few weeks ago, is the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, named for the son of a Chippewa chief who delivered mail by dog sled along Lake Superior’s rugged North Shore in the late 19th century. Launched in 1981, the Beargrease draws world-class sled dog teams from around the globe. The Beargrease is the longest, and most challenging, of sled dog events in the lower 48: almost 400 miles and 4000 spectators, starting in Duluth, Minnesota on the last weekend of January. Field-recordist Curt Olson gathered the sounds of the dogs, the mushers and the fans, “Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon” (7:00 mp3):

Curt has more sounds at Track Seventeen. And a shorter version ran on Weekend America with a photo gallery. Keith
(Photo: © Kit Larson) Keith Ali on the trail on the second day of the 2006 Beargrease Sled Dog Race.