Ryan Ingebritsen: A Walk Into the Past: The Soundscape of Pre-Colonial Shawmut Peninsula (Ambisonic Version)

30 ECHOES

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

For this hike, only choose 3D if you have head tracking headphones such as Apple Airpods with spatial audio. Otherwise, Choose 2D.

A Walk Into the Past transports the listener back in time through sound within the boundaries of modern day Boston Common. Within this historic site, listeners can hear a sonic emulation of the sound environment that would have existed here nearly 400 years ago before English settlers arrived, including the bird, tree, insect, water features, and other wildlife that would have populated this area. Created using 3-dimensional audio, the walk provides a sonic experience of this ancient spot. As Boston harbor was filled in over the course of many years, the old "back bay" would have met the land right at the west edge of modern Boston Common where a dense salt marsh bordered the area between the land and the harbor.

1 Forest 1

A dense forest inhabited by American Goldfinch and Robins, bald Eagle, Black Capped Chickadee, Crow, Fox and Sage Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, BlueJay, Hairy Woodpecker, and Lewis Woodpecker

2 Field 1

A quiet Field inhabited by American Goldfinch and Robins, Purple Finch, Fox and Sage Sparrow, Black Capped Chickadee, BlueJay, Bobolink, Oak Titmouse, Red Throated Hummingbird, and the now extinct Passenger Pigeon and Heath Hen

4 Pond 2

Large Pond with tall grasses, bubbling fish and turtles, frogs, and bird species such as Canadian Geese, American Mallards, Fox and Sage Sparrows, Purple Finch, Red Throated Hummingbirds, Blue Jay, and extinct species such as the Heath Hen.

5 Forest 2

A light forest near the shore inhabited by American Goldfinch, Robins, Bald Eagles, White Winged Tern, Titmouse, Showy Owl, Scarlet Taninger, Osprey, and Hairy Woodpecker

6 Pond 3

A Pond surrounded by sparse trees, bubbling fish and turtles, and bird species such as Canadian Geese, American Mallards, Fox and Sage Sparrows, Purple Finch, Red Throated Hummingbirds, Blue Jay, and extinct species such as the Heath Hen.

7 Shore 1

Here, the shore of the back bay emerges from the forest to the east and the salt marsh to the south. A gentle tide rises causing gentle waves as Canadian Geese, Greater and Lesses Yellow Leg, Purple Sandpiper, Red Breasted Merganser, and Plover scatter the shore and fly across the bay.

11 Field 2

12 Field 3

13 Forest 3

A moderate forest bordering the southern shore of the peninsula inhabited by American Goldfinch, Robin, Black Capped Chickadee, Lewis Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird, Sage Sparrow, Oak Titmouse, and Lewis Woodpecker

14 Forest 4

A lightly wooded forest inhabited by American Goldfinch, Snowy Owl,White Winded Tern, Black Capped Chickadee, Titmouse, Osprey, and Hairy Woodpecker

15 Forest 5

A peaceful forest inhabited by American Goldfinch, Snowy Owl,White Winded Tern, Black Capped Chickadee, Titmouse, Osprey, and Hairy Woodpecker

Flowing Water

1 sound

Lone Tree 1

1 sound

Birds of Prey 1

The whole are features various large prey birds who hunt from above from their perch atop beacon hill and the other two hills that make up Tremont, which would have stood to the north of what is now Boston common. Species include the Bald Eagle, Red Shouldered Hawk, Osprey, and the Canadian Goose to name a few.

Birds of Prey 2

The whole are features various large prey birds who hunt from above from their perch atop beacon hill and the other two hills that make up Tremont, which would have stood to the north of what is now Boston common. Species include the Bald Eagle, Red Shouldered Hawk, Osprey, and the Canadian Goose to name a few.

Lone Tree 2

1 sound

Lone Tree 3

1 sound

Lone Tree 4

1 sound

Lone Tree 5

1 sound

Lone Tree 7

1 sound

Lone Tree 8

1 sound

Lone Tree 9

1 sound

Lone Tree 10

1 sound

Quiet Tree, Cricket, and Bird

1 sound

Cicadas.1

1 sound

Cicadas.2

1 sound

9 Marsh 2

The southern part of the marsh borders the shore line to the south, and a field and forest to the east. It is inhabited by Pie-Billed Grebe, White Ibis, Common Gallinule, Egrit, Heron, Marsh Wren, and the extinct Great Awk.

10 Shore 2

The southern short of the peninsula on the back bay is shielded from the ocean current and winds and is more quiet. Here, Canadian Geese, Greater and Lesser Yellow Leg, Purple Sandpiper, Red Breasted Merganser, and Plover dot the rocky shores as they hunt the bay for fish.

8 Marsh 1

A salt marsh sits between the shore and an open prairie. The marsh is inhabited by American Bitten, Oyster Catcher, Common Gallinule, Egrit, Heron, Marsh Wren, and now extinct species such as the Great Awk.

3 Pond 1

A quiet Pond with tall grasses, bubbling fish and turtles, and bird species such as Canadian Geese, American Mallards, Fox and Sage Sparrows, Purple Finch, Red Throated Hummingbirds, Blue Jay, and extinct species such as the Heath Hen.

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