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Yosemite in Fall - With John Muir

There's still time to enjoy a hike!
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Mountain Chickadee
© Tom Grey

It’s October in Yosemite. Acorn Woodpeckers, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Mountain Chickadees like this one know it’s time to stock the larder! For us, there’s still time to enjoy a hike before the harshness of winter. As John Muir put it:  “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” 

Many of the sounds were recorded by Gordon Hempton, of QuietPlanet.com.

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BirdNote®

Yosemite in Fall – With John Muir

By Chris Peterson

This is BirdNote!

[Winds blowing in Yosemite + calls of Mountain Chickadees]

In Yosemite, October winds begin to blow, making music with drying leaves and seed pods. [Sound break] Acorn Woodpeckers, [tapping of Acorn Woodpecker] Clark’s Nutcrackers, Mountain Chickadees, and Red-breasted Nuthatches know it’s time to stock the larder! [Calls of Clark’s Nutcrackers and chatter of Red-breasted Nuthatches] 

Yet for us, there’s still time to enjoy a hike [bring in footsteps] before the harshness of winter… [Introduce stream and hiker] 

Walk with me and hear what John Muir wrote in 1901. [On the path…]

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. [Calls of Mountain Chickadees] Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. [Stream] The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy [mountain winds with seed pod rattles], while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” *

Many of the sounds today were recorded by Gordon Hempton and provided courtesy of QuietPlanet.com. The bird sounds are from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

###

The soundscape[s] featured in today’s show were recorded by Gordon Hempton and provided courtesy of QuietPlanet.com.  Mountain wind with seed pod rattles; moderate stream Nature’s Essentials SFX 105.
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Call of Mountain Chickadee [106638] recorded by R.S. Little; chatter of Red-breasted Nuthatch [110378] W.L. Hershberger; call of Clark’s Nutcracker [99363] by R.S. Little; tapping of Acorn Woodpecker [165358] by D.L.Ross.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org  October 2013/2017/2019  Narrator: Michael Stein

ID#    yosemite-01-2013-10-15yosemite-01  

Quotations of John Muir - Writings - The John Muir Exhibit - Sierra Club Quotations of John Muir – the John Muir Exhibit – Sierra Club Our National Parks, 1901, p 56. 

Chris Peterson
Writer
Michael Stein
Narrator
Tom Grey
Photographer
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TagsCalifornia environmental champion reflection West

Related Resources

Check out Yosemite National ParkAcorn Woodpecker - More at All About BirdsClark's Nutcracker - More at All About BirdsMountain Chickadee - More at All About BirdsRed-breasted Nuthatch - More at All About BirdsVisit QuietPlanet.comLearn more about Gordon Hempton

More About These Birds

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)

Nucifraga columbiana

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)

Sitta canadensis

Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)

Melanerpes formicivorus

Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli)

Poecile gambeli

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