![]() I very much look forward to creating a podcast commemorating our experience. © Lang Elliott.Īltogether, our early-spring (late winter?) visit to Lost Maples was quite a success. Note also the occasional gruff calls of the immature Great-Horned Owl in the distance.Ĭalls and songs of a Carolina Chickadee, given at the break of dawn along the Sabinal River at Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country of Texas. I like the mix of sound … the gurgling of the river and the variety of birds sounding off in the background, including Northern Cardinal, Black-crested Titmouse, Mourning Dove and White-tipped Dove. My favorite is that of a Carolina Chickadee, singing and calling excitedly at dawn from small tree not far from the Sabinal River. On our last morning, we tried to get spacious soundscape portraits of various songbirds. Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country of Texas. A Northern Cardinal sings loudly at first and a Carolina Wren joins in at the end. As soon as I started recording, a hoverfly appeared and buzzed for nearly the entire duration of the recording:Ī fun recording featuring the cooing of a White-tipped Dove and the buzz of a hoverfly. Just a few minutes later, I was able to home-in on another White-tipped Dove, which allowed me to record it’s cooing from about twenty feet away. Note also the chattering songs of a Bewick’s Wren, and the resonant cooing of a White-tipped Dove … a species that only recently has crept northward into the Hill Country (note that this is the same recording featured at the top of this post):Ī wonderfully soothing mid-morning soundscape recorded at Lost Maples State Natural Area near Vanderpool, Texas. But I hiked upstream a ways and got a very relaxing mid-morning chorus featuring the gurgling of the Sabinal and the downward cascading whistled songs of a Canyon Wren, calling from high on a bluff. Listen carefully and you’ll hear the youngster fly to a different perch near the end of the recording, followed by distant calls.ĭuring our visit, I tried several times to capture a nice dawn chorus, but most didn’t work out for various reasons … such as Carolina Wrens or Cardinals coming-in too close. The young owl is actually full-sized at this point, though still unable to feed on its own. The gruff, throaty calls of the youngster keep the parents informed of its whereabouts. I wasn’t able to get a good recording because the river was too loud, but when I tried again two nights later, the owl was calling from a different tree, a bit farther from the river, and allowed me to place my soundscape mic directly beneath him for a splendid recording:Ĭloseup soundscape portrait of an immature Great Horned Owl sounding off at night next to the Sabinal River at Lost Maples State Nature Area in the Hill Country of Texas. Returning to the main parking lot, we were surprised to discover an immature Great-Horned Owl, perched in a Cottonwood tree near the edge of the river. Imagine her surprise to learn the soundmaker was actually a frog!Ĭhecking out a number of different locations, we finally homed-in on a nice-sounding chorus along the Sabinal River:Ī night chorus of Barking Frogs (Craugastor augusti) calling from limestone bluffs next to the Sabinal River at Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country of Texas. Beth, in fact, thought she was hearing a dog when we first got out of the car in the main parking area. Its call sounds like a muffled bark and can easily be confused with the bark of a dog. ![]() It is found in Mexico and in the United States from the Texas Hill Country to New Mexico and limited portions of Arizona. The Barking Frog, Craugastor augusti, breeds on land in moist areas under boulders or in crevices among outcrops. Why was this important? Well … because under those conditions in the spring, a very special thing happens at Lost Maples … Barking Frogs begin calling from the limestone bluffs above the Sabinal River and it’s tributary Cane Creek, both of which run through the middle of the refuge. The temperature was 68F, and probably had exceeded 75F during the heat of the day. Fortunately, it had rained the day before. We arrived at Lost Maples shortly after dark. Lost Maples State Natural Area, in the Texas Hill Country near Vanderpool.
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