SONGS OF THE WILD

Science Meets Art in Arkansas’s Nighttime Soundscapes.

By Jim Petersen

love vector.stock.adobe.com

For several years now, I’ve become increasingly aware of the sounds of the Arkansas night. Part of that began to bubble up while spending too many nights in small motels away from home with time on my hands. To fully enjoy the sounds of the Arkansas night — summer, fall, winter and spring — I decided to sit back, relax and listen. Time waits for no one, but it can be cyclic. Sounds of the Arkansas night repeat from one year to the next — if you only listen. Cicadas and katydids of summer yield to the crickets and elk of fall, which yield to the wild geese and coyotes of early winter. And so on. If you only listen.

SUMMER
As the heat of summer kicks in, I hear the familiar drone of cicadas during the day. Their buzzing tapers off as night darkens and is replaced by the loud, staccato chirps of katydids.

On cooler and damper summer nights, the katydids and air-conditioning units quiet down, allowing the quieter crickets to take over. Those cooler and damper nights are frequently the result of summer storms that bring thunder and cooling rain. With a summer breeze, raindrops will fall from the damp overhead leaves hours after the storm has passed.

FALL
Fall is one of the quieter times in Arkansas at night — much quieter than summer and spring. Gone for the most part are the cicadas and katydids of summer. The sound of raindrops falling on green leaves is replaced by the rattle of raindrops bouncing off drying leaves. Once the leaves fall to the ground, nocturnal animal movements are more noticeable. Moving into fall, the sound of crickets (which were there during the late summer, too) takes center stage. In the summer, the crickets played a supporting role; quieter background notes played against the loud cacophony of cicadas and katydids. By the fall, the crickets will have sole billing. The crickets play a more refined and simpler tune than the brash sounds of cicadas and katydids. Lately, I’ve noticed that I have come to associate their sound with sweet memories of late fall fishing trips when I tried to eke out a few more moments of daylight before leaving the fish to their distractions.

In parts of northern Arkansas, the sounds of crickets are scarcely noticed due to the “goings on” of bull elk bugling. While many of the fall night sounds are subtle, elk bugling is anything but. Male elk bugle to advertise their presence and dominance to other male elk and cow elk. The bugle is a loud, high-pitched but guttural whistle. It has an eerie, haunting quality that cuts through any evening breezes. Its sound can carry more than a mile. Once you hear it, you’ll never forget the sound. Late September through October are prime times to hear bull elk bugle in the evenings.

You might find it worth putting yourself in the right place at the right time for such a sound. Prime places include Boxley Valley and Erbie in the western part of the Buffalo National River southwest of Harrison. Prime time is in September and October.

WINTER
In the winter, absent the quiet sounds of the occasional sound-muffling snowfall, sounds are mainly limited to hooting owls, howling coyotes and night winds. For me, there is something about an owl call that simultaneously stirs feelings of loneliness, peacefulness and simplicity. And if it’s been a warm fall, you might hear the high-altitude squawking of cranes and geese as they belatedly head south for the winter.

SPRING
As the seasons turn to late winter and early spring, I await the first warm rain of the season. After that rain I purposely make my way to a wet area to hear the symphony of the first harbingers of spring — the spring peepers. Spring peepers are small frogs that begin to peep in chorus after the first warm rain.

As spring progresses into summer, you can hear the call of the chuck-will’s-widow. Its call gives this secretive bird its name. You’ll also begin to hear the call of Blanchard’s cricket frogs and bullfrogs. Cricket frogs have a distinctive call that sounds like small stones rattling each other around. Bullfrogs supply the bass backdrop for many of the other frog calls.

Well, back to summer again. What has been will be again; there is nothing new under the sun. I’m looking forward to the drone of the cicadas and katydids. I’m ready to slow down, relax and listen. Aren’t you?