I have been thinking for a while now that I would enjoy getting together wi=
th a few avid nature recordists to share one of my favorite places in the S=
an Juan Islands (Northwest WA, USA)
You can hike a little less than a mile up a fairly easy and pleasant trail =
(maintained by the US DNR) to Duck Lake on Cypress Island. If you get ther=
e early in the morning in the Spring, the sounds of the bird calls coming o=
ff the lake and echoing off the mountain behind it are enchanting--at least=
in my humble opinion. Cypress is one of the larger islands in the San Jua=
ns and is almost completely uninhabited. You can get human noise from pass=
ing boats and airplanes, but it is typically very quiet. Remarkably enough=
, it is only a few miles from the mainland.
But you have to have a boat and you have to know where you're going. And h=
erein lies my little bribe to make some friends. I'd like to take two or t=
hree recordists out there for a morning recording session. In addition to =
visiting one of my favorite places and potentially making a friend or two, =
I hope to get some first-hand exposure to the knowledge and gear that you c=
an share. I'm not expecting just the who's-who of nature recordists; anyon=
e is welcome. But I would like to learn about mic setups and other tricks.=
I promise not to be a pest once you turn the recorder on.
I would kind of prefer to do this mid-week in April, but I'd be open to a w=
eekend if necessary. The place is pretty lonely at any time, but we could =
just about ensure that we have the island to ourselves on a weekday morning=
. We could leave the evening before and camp on the island. Or, if you li=
ke to get up when it is dark, we could just run out there for a few hours i=
n the morning.
If you have an interest, let me know. Reply off-list with your preferences=
and we'll see if we can put something together.
We would leave from Anacortes. I am not a licensed captain, but my boat is=
very seaworthy and I have fair amount of experience navigating the area. =
Any scheduled trip would be dependent on decent weather.
Kind regards, Robb
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