Dawn chorus featuring Wood Thrushes, in hardwood forest on a ridge overlooking the Missouri River. 6:30am, 29 July 2016. Near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott. Please play at a low volume to simulate a natural listening experience.
Click Here for direct link to MP3.
Hi everyone! I’m fresh back from my recording expedition and plan to publish a series of seven or eight blog posts featuring highlights, this being my first installment. Note this process may take a few weeks, especially given that I will be “on retreat” all of next week, spending time with friends in a picturesque cottage situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Ontario … much-needed time to relax, swim, hike, bike, be present, and dream of things to come.
Ridge Top Hardwoods
I arrived in Missouri on the evening of July 28. I spent the night sleeping in my tent in a beautiful hardwood forest along a ridge overlooking the “Big Muddy,” otherwise known as the Missouri River (see photo above). Awakening at first light, I was completely surprised by the rich chorus of Wood Thrushes, sounding off from all directions. As usual, I had my soundscape microphone aleady in position, with a cable running to my recorder placed next to me in my tent. So all I had to do was turn my recorder on, hit “record”, and then doze off to the melodic chorus, quite unexpected for late July!
It proved to be an unseasonably hot morning, the temperature quickly climbing from around 70F into the mid 80s. By mid-morning, cicadas were sounding off everywhere from the tall forest trees. With my parabolic microphone in hand, I hiked the trail along the ridge and managed to snatch a closeup portrait of the raspy buzzes of Robinson’s Cicada, Tibicen robinsoniana, an eastern species that is at the western edge of its range in central Missouri:
Raspy buzzes of Robinson’s Cicada. 9:30am, 29 July 2016. Recorded in hardwood forest near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott.
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I spent most of my day visiting with my sister Jackie and my good friend Carl Gerhardt, a frog behavior expert and professor at the University of Missouri. At dusk, I broke free of my social obligations and once again hiked the ridge trail. To my complete delight, Scissor-grinder Cicadas, Neotibicen pruinosa, put on quite a performance in the waning light and I managed to capture a splendid soundscape, also featuring call-volleys from a lone Wood Thrush that was no doubt settling-in for the night:
Scissor-Grinder Cicadas with calls of a lone Wood Thrush. 9:20pm, 29 July 2016. Recorded in hardwood forest near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott. Don’t play too loudly or the cicadas may rattle your ears!
Click Here for direct link to MP3.
As darkness unfolded, a host of insect sounds took to the stage, the most prominent being the Common True Katydid, Pterophylla camellifolia, whose loud and harsh calls are virtually impossible to miss:
Common True Katydid closeup recording. 11pm, 29 July 2016. Recorded in hardwood forest near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott.
Click Here for direct link to MP3.
Following my ear for a pleasant mix of night-time sounds, I homed-in on a small pond in a forest clearing. I rather like this spacious soundscape, featuring Green Frogs and insects (listen for the harsh calls of True Katydids, the trills of a variety of crickets, and the high-pitched zzzitick calls of an Oblong-winged Katydid):
Green Frogs and Insects. 11:30pm, 29 July 2016. Recorded at a small pond in a clearing, surrounded by hardwood forest, near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott.
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With midnight upon me, I decided to head for nearby Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, a large expanse of floodplain wetlands and wet meadows along the east edge of the Missouri River. Along the way, I stopped at a stream crossing to take one last listen to the forest soundscape, before heading into the marshland. And this is what I heard:
Insect and Bullfrog chorus. 12:30am, 30 July 2016. Recorded at a stream crossing surrounded by hardwood forest, near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott.
Click Here for direct link to MP3.
Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area
Arriving at Eagle Buffs Conservation Area, I quickly found my way to a marshy area and set up my soundscape microphone, with the intention of recording the crickets and katydids singing from the grassy edge. To my surprise and delight, an immature owl (I think a Great Horned Owl) began giving screeches (begging calls, I presume) from a patch of trees just on the other side of the wetland. In the distance, a Barred Owl gave periodic hoo-aw calls (note: it is certainly possible that the immature is a Barred Owl, although my best guess is Great Horned Owl). At one point, a Great Blue Heron gives a series of croaks as it lands somewhere in the marsh. Here is a brief snippet of the recording:
Insect chorus with owlet screeches, recorded at marsh edge. 1:00am, 30 July 2016. Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, along the Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott.
Click Here for direct link to MP3.
At another marshy location, I gathered a soundscape featuring two Fall Field Crickets, Gryllus pennslvanicus, chirping at the bottom end (frequency-wise) and a Nebraska Conehead, Conocephalus nebrascensis, repeating its two-second buzzes at the upper end. In between are the trills of several other species of crickets. To my ear, this is a pleasant soundscape, the only weakness being a lack of low frequency sounds (excepting the subtle water sounds that occur periodically). I’m curious about what my readers think of this recording … is it pretty, or do the high-pitched insect sounds overwhelm one’s ears?
Insect chorus at marsh edge, featuring two Fall Field Crickets chirping at the low end and Nebraska Conehead giving very high-pitched buzzes at the high end. 2:00am, 30 July 2016. Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, along the Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott.
Click Here for direct link to MP3.
Growing tired, I decided to head back to my camp. But before leaving the refuge, I stopped one last time and was thrilled by a large chorus of Northern Cricket Frogs (yes, they sound rather like crickets!). What’s more, as I walked it in its direction I came across an Oblong-winged Katydid, Amblycorypha oblongifolia, calling loudly from the grass. This katydid has a very unique song that sounds to me like zzzitick! First I gathered a soundscape portrait of the species, followed by a parabolic microphone closeup. Below is a compilation featuring both recordings, each a minute long, and both with a rousing chorus of cricket frogs in the background:
Two recordings featuring the songs of an Oblong-winged Katydid, Northern Cricket Frogs, and ground crickets. 2:30am, 30 July 2016. Recorded in tall grass at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, along the Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri. © Lang Elliott.
Click Here for direct link to MP3.
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I hope you enjoyed these recordings. I must say that I’m quite happy with the results of my brief sojourn along the Missouri River. My next blog post will cover my subsequent visit to two tallgrass prairie preserves in southwestern Missouri. After that, you’ll hear samplings from Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, and even New York … the highlights of my 6000 mile late summer journey. So please stay tuned!
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Awakening at first light, I was completely surprised by the rich chorus of Wood Thrushes, sounding off from all directions. As usual, I had my soundscape microphone aleady in position, with a cable running to my recorder placed next to me in my tent. So all I had to do was turn my recorder on, hit “record”, and then doze off to the melodic chorus, quite unexpected for late July!
Fabulous! Thanks! I didn’t think I would ever find out the name of our summer chorus bugs! They don’t sound like the usual cicadas; they are in a league all their own. Now, we know they are Scissor-grinder Cidadas (Neotibicen Pruinosa)! Ahhh, sweet, many thanks. Also, we thought we had bullfrogs but they are only Green Frogs–thanks, again. Maybe it’s just my hearing but the Fall Field Crickets have a sound on the tape that sounds like mechanical, headphone buzz. Etc., I love the melancholic sound of cool, autumn crickets that we hear in the Smokey Mts. along the roadways–sorta… Read more »
Your “ditch crickets” are probably ground crickets, maybe a mixture of Allard’s Ground Crickets and Carolina Ground Crickets, two very common species.
p.s. I’m planning a series of podcasts about our insect soundscape, starting with an orientation podcast pointing out the different groups one is likely to hear and how their songs can be characterized, at least generally-speaking.
My Goooodness. You have the expertise to recognize the choruses of creatures of the night. At our cabin in northwestern Wisconsin, I love the night sounds, insects, frogs, whiporills and occasional owls. More action at night than during the days. Thanks for putting names and descriptions to what we hear!
You’re welcome Mark!
Exquisite, Lang, especially listening through my stereo speakers as I work.
: >)
hi, you didn’t mention the lovely sound of the scissor-grinder cicadas along with the northern dusk singing cicadas. I hope that makes it to an album. So few professional recordings of annual daytime cicadas.
Charlotte: I stand corrected. I believe the primary singers are indeed Scissor-grinders, so I’ve changed the ID in my post and I’m awaiting verification from my expert cicada listener, Wil Hershberger.
there is a childrens song that goes “Gaa Gunk went the little green frog one day. Gaa Gunk went the little green frog. Gaa Gunk went the little green frog one day and the frog went gink gaa gunk”
Never quite understood until now.
Marti
Washington State
That a new one for me, and I rather like it!
thanx, Marxha!
What a great collection, Lang! The cicadas and bullfrog really had me smiling. Glad you’re back, can’t wait for the next round of music. 🙂
: >)
The ritmic off insects music minimalist.thanks,Lang,look sinfoni of insects in you tu be of senen barreiro.
Nice work! Listening to your Common True Katydid, I recall that this species has regional dialects. Your audio capture sounds a lot like one of the two-beat, slow tempoed Southwestern calling song variants. Cool! I attached an MP3 excerpt from a capture I made last evening of two CTKs with Northern accents, which typically have a quick tempoed song in combinations of four, three, three, three, two beats, recorded August 18, 2016 in Middlesex Co. Massachusetts, 78 degrees F. (Temperature affects both pitch and tempo as well.) Some road noise in the background. More info on CTK regional dialects here:… Read more »
Nice recording Norm!
Yep … mine is the southwestern “clade” with the more slow-paced one or two-beat songs. I also recorded some very interesting-sounding common trues while in Oklahoma. They will be included in my third post featuring highlights.
p.s. I often consult Tom Walker’s web site. It helped me ID a new species of katydid that I recorded in TX. What a dedicated field biologist! Wil Hershberger and I met him during a recording trip to Florida related to our book, The Songs of Insects.
Nattering on a bit further, here: I finally finished auditioning all the recordings and they are all very, very good, but to answer your overarching question, the most “marketable” — that is, the most pleasurable listening experience–is the second from the last with the Nebraska conehead(s) with field crickets. You might avoid the more “robust” conehead species in your compilations (except for educational purposes on these web pages). The field crickets provide a bit of “low end.” Throwing in my three cents. You have really inspired me to go out this evening with my microphones! BTW, for anyone still monitoring… Read more »
: >)
Welcome back Lang, I missed you & our friends the birds : > )
: >)
Have you ever heard the Dusk-singing Cicadas in the Northeast Lang, or only more south? A quick search by me on the internet did not produce a clear range map.
Although absent over most of the Northeast, they do occur in the Connecticut. There’s a range map here:
http://songsofinsects.com/cicadas/northern-dusk-singing-cicada
Thanks much for the info.
Lovely sounds! Thank you for transporting me to this peaceful area! I loved the insect sounds, even the higher pitched segment. My dog especially enjoyed the segment with the owls! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome Robin!
Funny, I was just thinking this morning how I missed your blog posts Lang 🙂 Thanks for these rich soundscapes. In answer to your question I actually find the conehead sounds to be kind of harsh sounding. The underlying chirps and fluttering sounds in that recording are real pretty though.
I figured that some would find the conehead buzzes offensive. Of course, I can always lower the volume of that frequency band to make the recording more “listenable.” But I’ll wait for more feedback before I do anything.
Great timing on this post, as I’ve just been wondering where your posts are!
Love the thrushes. When I first moved to Michigan, I had no idea what they were-but always heard them in the mornings and late evenings. I took to calling the “Metal birds”–because of that metallic sound of their calls.
I should be back to posting regularly sometime in early September. I think I needed a break!
Very nice, Lang! A nice mixed hybrid collection of insects and our feathered friends indicative of late summer in the Midwest. Wish it wasn’t so hot for you. Makes camping tougher. We’re all jealous but happy for you!
Also amphibians!
Yes, I was surprised by the frog choruses I found, so late in the summer. Had I delayed my trip by a week, I would have encountered the big rains in Louisiana and thereabouts, which no doubt would have brought a number of additional frogs into play. Of course, I might have drowned trying to record them!
I absolutely do not enjoy camping in hot and humid weather. Under those conditions, I tend to get very little sleep.