Sounds from Alaska: Fall Frenzy


Fall’s first frost. A gusty breeze steering giant clouds in and out of shifting blue holes. Yellowing cottonwood leaves fluttering like rain. A vibrant morning that finds critters either scrambling to head south or fettering about getting ready to stay through the winter.

Walking through the crispy forest, I aim my microphone at pair of red squirrels chasing each other on and off and under a cluster of trees, chittering and chattering all the while. Mid-chase, a flock of sandhill cranes passes over head in a wavering, raucous, fluid skein.

And perched on a high branch, between the scurrying squirrels and fleeing cranes, is a single raven offering a calm commentary on the neighborhood frenzy.


Hank Lentfer, author of Faith of Cranes, is ear-deep in a new career recording the whistles, clicks, groans, and splashes of his wild neighbors.

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