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The month of March is when we watch as spring arrives in nature and also on the calendar. This past week I have been hearing birds that have not been in our area since last fall. Since the beginning of March, I have heard the honking of flocks of Canada geese heading north; the calling of a dove; a male cardinal singing; the familiar calling of the killdeer, and on March 16 I saw and heard robins and red-winged blackbirds.
I began to think about all the bird and animal sounds that one can hear while in the spring woods. Most are commonplace but a few, such as the screech and barn owls, can be very strange and eerie sounding.
During the spring months, a blood-curdling scream could be heard during the night, and this would be the male bobcat in search of a mate. Here again, if you are alone in the woods, this scream could be quite scary.
A fox will give off a series of barks and yelps, with the most prominent sounds made during the breeding season. This is also a blood-curdling scream that sounds as if someone is being murdered. This call can be heard from a far away distance and is used to find a mate.
Of course, the male turkeys do a lot of gobbling in the spring, and, from a distance to the untrained ear, the sound could be mistaken for a barking dog.
The grouse drums on a log or other vantage point. The drumming sound is not a call but rather comes from its wing feathers. While standing on a large, prominent log or rock, with tail fanned, the male beats the air sharply with his wings.
The rush of air created by the wing beats compares to a drumming sound. The drumming starts slowly and increases in speed until the individual wing beats merge into a fast steady whirl. It has been said that the sound can be compared to a farmer starting his tractor in the distance.
Another bird that makes a strange noise with its wings is the woodcock. Woodcocks are quite vocal and have at least 10 separate calls. However, they are most vocal during the mating season. The males make a nasal buzzing sound, usually described as a peent, and preceding each peent is the two-syllable gurgling note, tuko.
Although the peent is heard several hundred yards away, the tuko is only audible within 15 feet of the bird. Next the bird takes flight, while giving a series of liquid, gurgling chirps. His flight could go as high as 200-300 feet, and while climbing his wings will make a twittering sound. He'll be warbling on his spiraling descent back to earth and landing in the same spot from where he took off.
We've all heard chipmunks calling and we find that during the breeding season, the male is quite the singer. He will seek out the entrance to a female's den, and then, while standing on his hind feet, he will sing to her. If you did not know what you were hearing, you might think it was a bird. For hours on end, he sings continuously until the female finally allows him into her den.
An animal's call that is seldom mistakenly identified is the Eastern coyote. In the spring, the male of a mated pair of coyotes will begin howling, and this will be interspersed by the female's yips and barks. The young pups from the previous year could join in the chorus and respond with howls of their own.
Calls from the family group heard at other times of the year are warnings that this is their territory and to keep out. These calls act as a fence around their territory, which is also physically marked with scent posts.
During the rutting season, hunters have found out that a male deer can be called in by making a series of grunts, simulating hoof stomping and antler clashing.
While birds and animals are most vocal during their breeding season, perhaps the calling championship should go to a tiny frog known as the spring peeper. Its scientific name is Hyla crucifer because it is heard in early spring, a time for rebirth. The tiny frog carries the figure of a cross on its back; hence, the name crucifer.
On a warm spring evening, the males call from 120-130 times per minute. During the breeding season, which lasts for two months, the frog could go without eating. At the end of two months, the females move in and select the males who are calling the loudest. By this time, some males will have worn out their vocal cords. When the females are all bred, the singing ceases.
Spring is a good time to pull on your mud boots and go for a walk in the great outdoors. Keep your ears tuned in to the many sounds of spring, and be sure to listen for the spring peepers, which is a concert that you won't want to miss.
Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.