{"id":172089,"date":"2015-07-22T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nextdoornature.org\/?p=26809"},"modified":"2019-12-23T00:56:11","modified_gmt":"2019-12-22T11:56:11","slug":"summer-soundtrack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/summer-soundtrack\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Soundtrack"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite things about summer is the free outdoor concerts. I\u2019m not talking about local bands that occasionally perform from the park gazebo even though they can be a pleasant accompaniment to my evening dog walk.<\/p>\n

No, nothing says summer like the insect-amphibian jam sessions that take place almost every evening.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve moved quite a lot in my life and have been delighted to learn that each place I\u2019ve lived long enough to grow accustomed to. Six U.S. states and a Scandinavian country have a timbre and cadence all their own, distinctive to that specific habitat in a certain continent on a singular planet in an expanding universe.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the soundtrack of home, wherever home may be at that particular time in one\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The eastern gray treefrog is one of many performers in nightly summer concerts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
field cricket 2 by Jimmy Smith, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The musicians startwarming up as the light begins to fade. They\u2019ve been playing the same basic tune since I was a child so I immediately recognize the overture. By 7:00-7:30pm the instruments are tuned and ready to swing.<\/p>\n

Male Field crickets (Gryllus spp.) establish the beat with their forewings, kind of like a finger-snap that varies from cool to hot depending on the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Common true katydids (Pterophylla camellifolia) shift the accent\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
common true katydid by Lisa Brown, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>
common meadow katydid by Rachid H, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2026 and the common meadow katydids (Orchelimum vulgare, not as common as the name implies) chime in with a bit of lawn-sprinkler syncopation.<\/p>\n

[you might need to boost the volume a bit on this one]<\/p>\n

Before long, the dog-day cicadas (Tibicen canicularis) are stealing the show.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
dog-day cicada by Roger Engberg, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the evening progresses, though, the cicadas and other insects cede the stage to the second act\u2014the frogs and toads\u2026 possibly because these headliners have been known to devour the opening act!<\/p>\n

The band is made up primarily of horns and percussion. This isn\u2019t jazz\u2014there\u2019s not much in the way of improvisation and the musicians don\u2019t really take turns letting one another shine during a solo.<\/p>\n

It can be difficult to identify the featured players, in part because the cast keeps changing; there are fair-weather performers, some have stormy temperament, and others don\u2019t like to travel far from their favorite watering hole.<\/p>\n

Still, there are some easily recognized voices.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
northern cricket frog by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Northern cricket frogs (Acris crepitant) step in to set the pace abandoned by their namesake insect. I\u2019ve seen their call described as pebbles bouncing against oneanother but to me it\u2019s a metal cabana – chain wrapped around a wood cylinder and shaken, not stirred.<\/p>\n

The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is a minimalist; not much complexity but the sustain on that single trilling note is impressive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
American toad by AllieKF, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>
green frog by Matt Reinbold, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The green frog (Lithobates clamitans), on the other hand, is a true traditionalist – no electric bass for this fellow, or even an upright acoustic. Listen carefully and you\u2019ll hear his homage to a single string and washtub.<\/p>\n

Tiny boreal chorus frogs (Pseudacris maculata) play plastic comb call-and-response\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
boreal chorus frog by J. N. Stuart, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>
eastern gray treefrog by USFWSmidwest, CCL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2026 and the gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) are in charge of the upper register. These little guys can blow, plus how about that vibrato!<\/p>\n

When the gang\u2019s all here and lettin\u2019 it rip the result is more cacophony than symphony\u2014not everyone\u2019s ideal night music but a lullaby to my ears.<\/p>\n

This blog, like so many activities that foster support and appreciation of the natural world, is a labor of love. If you\u2019ve enjoyed learning about the creatures who share our built environment, consider becoming an NDN Benefactor with a donation of any amount you\u2019re inspired to give.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite things about summer is the free outdoor concerts. I\u2019m not talking about local bands that occasionally perform from the park gazebo even though they can be a pleasant accompaniment to my evening dog walk. No, nothing says summer like the insect-amphibian jam sessions that take place almost every evening. I\u2019ve moved […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":2196135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nextdoornature.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/07\/eastern-gray-treefrog-by-usfwsmidwest-ccl.jpg?w=500","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6984,5],"tags":[7848,3759,7822,630],"class_list":["post-172089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-wildlife","tag-amphibian","tag-cicada","tag-frog","tag-katydid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2196135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}