Spine-Tingling Duck Wing Whooshes and Whistles

by Lang Elliott | May 23, 2026 | 16 comments

Duck Wing Whooshes and Whistles. 8am, Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska. Recording by Ted Mack, © Lang Elliott. Please wear headphones. Image AI-gen.

Note: The recording featured here is a “3D binaural soundscape”. Please wear headphones for a profound listening experience that will make you think you’re actually out there, immersed in the natural world!

In late March, I travel to Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, located in west-central Nebraska, about twenty miles due north of the Platte River. It is early spring and the waterfowl migration is at its peak.

Looking for recording opportunities, I home in on a long, narrow pond only ten or fifteen feet wide and perhaps a hundred feet long, with steep banks on each side. It is a waterfowl mecca, with ducks of several species excitedly swimming about while feeding. Still others streak by overhead, their wings producing loud, spine-tingling whooshes or musical whistles, or else they land with a splash.

I dare not approach the pond because the ducks will scatter and might not return. So I wait until an hour before dawn the next morning, and under the cover of darkness, I place a soundscape mic in the middle of the pool. Fortunately, no ducks are present, but at first light they begin arriving and soon the pool is churning with activity.

Having run several hundred feet of audio cable to a sheltered spot behind a hill, I am able to hear the action firsthand over headphones, reveling in every detail without disturbing the ducks.

Species to listen for:

1) Loud peeps given mostly in flight: Green-winged Teal.
2) Melodious wing whistles while flying: Common Goldeneye.
3) Taking flight while calling chux-chux-chux: Northern Shoveler.
4) Otherworldly nasal calls (prominent at the end of the recording): Lesser Scaup.
5) Musical bird songs in the background: Western Meadowlark.
6) A loud raucous outburst followed wing flapping: Ring-necked Pheasant.

Note: This absolutely stunning recording was made by my close friend and recording partner Ted Mack (now deceased) during our extended 6-month recording expedition in 1994. The commentary reflects how he described the experience to me. Ted’s recording is a testament to his sharp eyes and ears, and his uncanny ability to find really amazing situations in which to record.

Ted Mack (right) and myself the day we embarked on our 6-month recording expedition in 1994. What a fantastic trip that was!