Slice of Life #9- Sounds

Who-ho-o-o, whoo-hoo-o-o, whoo!

Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep!

Quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack!

The forest is a cacophony of sound.

Today it was over seventy degrees and the amphibians woke up from hibernation.  I drove to Assunpink Wildlife Management Area today and when I got out of my car the noise was deafening. As I moved closer to the marsh and vernal pools the sound got louder and louder.  If I had been able to go deeper into the marsh I would have needed earplugs!

The sound linked above is a brief recording of the spring peepers and wood frogs advertising their mating calls while I was at Assunpink today.  I can still hear spring peepers outside my house at 11pm at night which means it is officially spring (no matter what the calendar says).

My morning started with noise, too.  When we left the house a little after 5am and well before dawn I heard the great horned owl hooting.  Only this time it was clear that Chris and I were listening to a duet!  Most likely a male and a female they duetted for the entirety of our morning dog walk.

Then about 12 hours later they started up again.  I crossed the street and decided to try to find the general area where the owls were hanging out.  Once I got into the woods I realized I was listening to at least 3 owls!  The male and female pair were making it clear that they were defending their territory while the third owl, much further away, hooted to or at them.

I didn’t find the owls, though I did narrow down the area where they are living/nesting.  I didn’t want to stress them as it’s breeding season so I’ll keep an eye out but I won’t go any deeper into the woods to find them.  Instead, I’ll hope that one of them decides to visit my backyard again.

Now it’s 11:30pm and the cacophony has finally quieted down.  But I know that the spring peepers are just getting started….For the next two weeks you won’t be able to hear yourself think outside my front door because the peepers will be desperately trying to attract a mate.  And you know what?  I’m ok with that!

Advertisement