Sounds Southern

Recorded on May 20, 2026 at Sardis Lake after a day of rain, this is the sound of a late-spring frog chorus. Barking Treefrogs, whose short, hollow calls resemble the bark of a beagle on the trail of a rabbit, join Fowler’s Toads American Toads, Green Frogs, and Southern Leopard Frogs along the flooded edges and backwaters. Drip fall from the day’s rain continues to fall from the trees and surrounding vegetation while, as darkness settles in, some of the season’s first fireflies begin putting on a show across in the mixed woods.

Recorded on May 9, 2026 on the Way Out West deck, this is the sound of the dawn chorus as the last of the spring warblers move through the hill country. A Prairie Warbler takes center stage, its buzzy zee-zee-zee-zee-zee-zeeeee carrying across the morning air and out over the spring meadow.Joining the chorus are Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Cardinal, American Crow, Wood Thrush, Carolina Wren, Brown-headed Cowbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Blue Jay, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Orchard Oriole, Carolina Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse, Purple Martin, Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, American Robin, Eastern Bluebird and Northern Mockingbird.

Recorded on May 18, 2026 at Sardis Lake, this is the sound of a group of Chuck-will’s-widows, also known as an invisibility, calling through the night as the sun sinks below the horizon and cricket and frog sounds begin to fill the mixed woods along the backwaters of the upper lake. Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear the rolling call-and-response of two nightjars, with the closer bird working steadily to defend its territory against a rival moving through the darkness.

Recorded on April 25, 2026 in a field along the Little Tallahatchie River, this is the sound of morning birdsong as the rising sun slowly burns away the fog from the river bottom adjacent to a stand of mixed woods. Spring migrating favorites like the Rose-breasted Grosbeak join newly arrived summer residents including Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-breasted Chat, Indigo Bunting, Summer Tanager and Orchard Oriole as they establish territories in the hedgerows along the field edge.Listeners will hear Northern Flicker, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Field Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, White-eyed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, American Goldfinch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Eastern Bluebird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Brown Thrasher, Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, American Crow, Blue Jay, Hairy Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow, Carolina Chickadee, Pine Warbler and Eastern Towhee carried across the foggy morning air.

Recorded on April 25, 2026 in the river bottom at an unnamed creek that empties into the Little Tallahatchie River, this is the sound of a slow-moving creek and the early morning chorus. A recent arrival, the Yellow-breasted Chat, takes the foreground, setting up territory in the thickets along the creek bank. Males carry a wide-ranging repertoire of whistles, cackles, mews, catcalls, caws, chuckles, rattles, squawks, gurgles and pops, repeated and recombined with striking variety.Beneath the birdsong, listeners will hear the steady glunk of a Green Frog and crickets calling from the dense vegetation along the gravel bar. The morning chorus includes Summer Tanager, Common Yellowthroat, Carolina Wren, Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal, American Crow, Mourning Dove, Northern Mockingbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue Grosbeak, Wood Thrush, Eastern Towhee, Northern Parula, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee, Pine Warbler, Orchard Oriole, Gray Catbird, White-eyed Vireo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Northern Waterthrush, Tufted Titmouse, Song Sparrow, Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird and Blue Jay.

Recorded on April 25, 2026 at Belmont along the Little Tallahatchie River, this is the sound of the dawn chorus while the river bottom is socked in with heavy fog. As moisture gathers on trees and vines and falls back to the forest floor in a steady fog drip, the morning chorus rises through the river bottom. Listeners will hear the Acadian Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Parula, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hooded Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Prothonotary Warbler, American Crow and White-throated Sparrow.

Recorded on May 1, 2026 at Heart Place, this is the sound of a nighttime chorus at Bullfrog Pond under May’s Full Flower Moon, also known as the Frog Moon. Spring Crickets and Southern Wood Crickets form a steady backdrop, joined by the rising waaaa of Fowler’s Toads, the soft tapping of Southern Cricket Frogs, like two small pebbles struck together and the short raspy trill of the Cope's Gray Treefrog.Through the chorus, listeners may catch the faint call of a Chuck-will’s-widow from across the pasture and the nocturnal notes of a Yellow-breasted Chat in the brambles, though both are nearly overtaken by the strength of the amphibian chorus. Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear over two hours of this layered nighttime rhythm, well suited for deep rest and relaxation.

Recorded on April 23, 2026 on the sleeping porch at the dogtrot, this is the sound of night under the Lyrid meteor shower. Crickets and Southern Cricket Frogs provide a steady rhythm, joined by the kowlp-kowlp-kowlp call of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a caterwauling chorus from a nearby Barred Owl pair and the rolling call of a Chuck-will’s-widow, returned to Heart Place in the woods at the edge of Kingfisher Pond.Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear over an hour of the Chuck-will’s-widow’s calls, along with distant coyote barks and howls, the soft rhythmic movement of an opossum brushing through the grasses in search of a nighttime meal and pausing to drink from the wildlife water feature. Other nocturnal calls include the occasional honk of a Canada Goose and the peent call of a Common Nighthawk plus psitherism moving through the oak trees in the pasture. This recording is best heard in a quiet setting.