Name: Forests and Mountains
Brand: Seth Swaaley
SKU: forests-and-mountains
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5.00 (1 reviews)

Forests and Mountains

Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 1 customer rating

(1 customer review)

$110

Forest and Mountains features nature and wildlife sounds from California, Washington, and Oregon. Included are a number of bird recordings and forest ambiences, along with some insects, winds, rivers, and rain.

These were recorded over the past three years in various forests, foothills, and mountain environments. A lot of these took place in or near Southern California’s Angeles Forest and San Gabriel Mountains, an area that spans 1200 Square Miles and varies vastly in terrain.

Also included are some sounds from Northern California, along with recordings from the Pacific Northwest.

The recording techniques for this varied as sometimes I went with the recorders running unattended to capture night, dawn and early morning. Other times I’d record while being close by.

Working as a Sound Effects Editor I’ve curated this collection with Editors in mind. Background Ambiences and Spotted FX can really bring a location to life and give it so much story and character and that was a lot of the inspiration behind putting this all together.

The Locations

California (61 Files) – This is where a majority of the sounds from this library were recorded and specifically Southern California. Variety of areas and different environments, mostly around Angeles Forest, from Lower Elevation Foothills to more rugged mid-elevation Mountain Canyons and then much Higher Elevation and more remote terrain. Also included are a few recordings from the Eastern Sierras and Northern California.

Washington (19 Files) – Southern WA in Gifford Pinchot Forest and various Northwest Forest areas near Puget Sound.

Oregon (16 Files) – Lakeside Recordings in forest and marsh at Klamath Lake in SE Oregon.

The Birds

Prominent / Specific Birds (36) (Closer Mic Perspective and more detailed) (* denotes multiple versions)

Acorn Woodpecker, Barred Owl, Black-headed Grosbeak, California Towhee, *Canadian Geese, *Fox Sparrow, *Great Horned Owl, *House Wren, Northern Flicker, Oak Titmouse, Pacific Wren, Pileated Woodpecker, *Raven, Robin, *Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Swainson’s Thrush

Other Birds Featured (17) (Mixed together from various perspectives, calm to busy depending on time of day, and then closer to more medium and distant sounds.)

Acorn Woodpecker, American Coot, California Quail, California Towhee, Cassin’s Finch, Fox Sparrow, Great Horned Owl, Hose Wren, Mallard, Mountain Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Poorwill, Raven, Red-tailed Hawk, Spotted Towhee, Steller’s Jay, Western Tanager, Western Wood-Pewee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wilson’s Warbler, Wrentit, Yellow-throated Blackbird, Zone-tailed Hawk

General Forest (9) – A mix of some wildlife (Chipmunk, Deer, Bullfrogs), and more general lighter forest ambiences.
Insects (7) – Crickets from various perspectives and different forests along with some Grasshoppers.
Rain (4) Light to heavier in a canyon with dense vegetation, some with distant birds.
Rivers (5) Smaller detailed creeks to faster moving rivers.
Wind (11) A mix of calm to heavier with gusts, vegetation, and tree creaks.

Metadata
Detailed with descriptions and markers and photos to easily navigate and allow for options when searching. UCS was used to categorize and various bird species are identified. I’ve also labeled the metadata with what I consider Lower Elevation (up to 1500 feet), Middle Elevation (2000-5000 feet), and Higher Elevation (above 5000 feet). Included are the season of the year which was mostly Spring and Summer. Using Open-Tier in Soundminer you can use these to help get a bit more specific to particular environments.

The Gear

Sound Devices MixPre-3 & 6 | Zoom F3 & 6 | Sony PCM-D100

Mics

Sennheiser MKH 8020 | Sennheiser MKH 8040 |

Sennheiser MKH 30 | Clippy EM 272

Licensor: : Seth Swaaley Categories: Animal Sound Effects, Bird Sound Effects, Environments & Ambiences, Insect Sound Effects, Nature & Countryside Ambiences.
Type: Forest sound effects / recordings
Specs: 96+ sounds • 24 Bit / 96 kHz • 7.8 GB • Includes metadata
Duration: Approx. 220 minutes total
Delivery: Instant - blazingly-fast - digital download
License type: Royalty-free - you can select the number of users on checkout
Wishlist:

Full sound effects list for Forests and Mountains:

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Click to view the full sound list for this SFX library

AMBBird_Acorn Woodpecker Raven Rain_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Acorn Woodpeckers_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Birds Forest Canyon Active 01_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Birds Forest Canyon Active 02_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Birds Forest Mountain_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Black-headed Grosbeak_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Forest Night_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Pacific Wren Hairy Woodpecker_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Pileated Woodpecker_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Spotted Towhee_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Woodpecker Tree Tapping 01_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBBird_Woodpecker Tree Tapping 02_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Crickets Forest Lake 01_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Crickets Forest Lake 02_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Crickets Poorwill_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Crickets Quiet_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Forest Mountain Chipmunk_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Forest Mountain Morning_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Forest Quiet 01_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Forest Quiet 02_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Forest Quiet 03_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Forest Quiet Birds_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBForst_Forest Quiet Crickets Birds_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBInsc_Crickets Alternating_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBInsc_Crickets Close_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBInsc_Crickets Insects 01_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBInsc_Crickets Insects 02_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBInsc_Crickets Insects 03_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBLake_Bullfrogs Lake_SESW_FAM.wav
AMBLake_Lake Night Bullfrogs_SESW_FAM.wav
ANMLInsc_Grasshopper Wing Flaps Close_SESW_FAM.wav
ANMLInsc_Grasshopper Wing Flaps Medium_SESW_FAM.wav
ANMLRdnt_Chipmunk Oak Titmouse_SESW_FAM.wav
ANMLWild_Deer Movement Snorts_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls 03_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls 04_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls Close 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls Close 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls Fly By 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Calls Fly By 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Croaking_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Song Sparrow 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Raven Song Sparrow 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDCrow_Ravens Group_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDFowl_Canadian Geese Fly By 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDFowl_Canadian Geese Fly By 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDFowl_Mallards Lake Night_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDPrey_Great Horned Owl 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDPrey_Great Horned Owl 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDPrey_Great Horned Owl 03_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Acorn Woodpeckers_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Barred Owl Robin_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Fox Sparrow Western Tanager_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Fox Sparrow_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_House Wren 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_House Wren 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Nuttall’s Woodpecker Tree Drumming_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Oak Titmouse Chipmunk_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Pacific Wren_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Robin_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Song Sparrow 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Song Sparrow 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Song Sparrow 03_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Song Sparrow 04_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Spotted Towhee Call_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Spotted Towhee Woodpecker Tapping_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Swainson’s Thrush 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDSong_Swainson’s Thrush 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDWade_Lake Birds Dawn Chorus 01_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDWade_Lake Birds Dawn Chorus 02_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDWade_Lake Birds Dawn Chorus 03_SESW_FAM.wav
BIRDWade_Lake Night Quiet_SESW_FAM.wav
RAINVege_Rain Vegetation Leaves 01_SESW_FAM.wav
RAINVege_Rain Vegetation Leaves 02_SESW_FAM.wav
RAINVege_Rain Vegetation Leaves 03_SESW_FAM.wav
RAINVege_Rain Vegetation Owl_SESW_FAM.wav
WATRFlow_Creek Medium_SESW_FAM.wav
WATRFlow_Creek Small_SESW_FAM.wav
WATRFlow_River Calm_SESW_FAM.wav
WATRFlow_River Fast 01_SESW_FAM.wav
WATRFlow_River Fast 02_SESW_FAM.wav
WATRFlow_River Fast 03_SESW_FAM.wav
WATRFlow_River Medium_SESW_FAM.wav
WIND_Wind Calm 01_SESW_FAM.wav
WIND_Wind Calm 02_SESW_FAM.wav
WIND_Wind Lake Night_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Tree Creaks Wind 01_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Tree Creaks Wind 02_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Wind Calm Mountains_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Wind Heavy Tree Creaks_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Wind Tree Creaks 01_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Wind Tree Creaks 02_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Wind Vegetation Gusts 01_SESW_FAM.wav
WINDVege_Wind Vegetation Gusts 02_SESW_FAM.wav

1 review

Rated 5 out of 5

Michael O’Connor – September 18, 2025

The sound recordings in this library are something special. Seth tracked down superb locations and expertly captured rich soundscapes of a wide range of ambiences and fx. It’s rare when I find a library where I genuinely want to use every single sound in the library; there’s no “fat” here! Clearly a lot of work went into the recording, editing, and metadata for this library. The animal recordings are so crystal clear, and with the extended range of the MKH8040’s, make for excellent material to pitch down into surreal realms. I wish more libraries held this high of a standard. Well worth the price point, as these sounds will breath a lot of life into your scenes and immerse audiences (not to mention save you time during the edit!).