Dave Herr was born a very long time ago in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After a 40-year career with the USDA Forest Service, he retired to Pendleton, Oregon. Somewhere along the road, the allure of recording captured his attention. He first attended the Sound Recording Workshop in 1989; he now returns each year as an instructor and has become one of the archive's main contributors for the western US.

Dave served as an Environmental Coordinator for USDA Forest Service, where he prepared several training tapes for biological inventories. One of the training tapes, Woodpeckers of the Blue Mountains, was produced in association with the Macaulay Library. Working with USDA Forest Service biologist Evelyn Bull, he recorded the vocalizations of key indicator species such as Vaux's Swift and Pileated Woodpecker for use in research on those species on Forest Service lands. Some of his favorite personal projects are recording at the Pendleton Roundup (the second largest rodeo in North America), and "The Cows of Harney County."

Dave has a particular interest in stereo habitat recording and has proven himself extremely capable in this regard with recordings ranging from insects in a meadow to the bubbling mudpots of Yellowstone. When not recording, is often found with camera in hand. Check out some of Dave's bird photos below.

Western Tanager

Red-necked Phalarope

Townsend's Solitaire