Sounds Southern

Recorded on October 25, 2026 at the dogtrot beneath the light of the Full Hunter’s Moon, this is the sound of a nighttime cricket chorus accompanied by the soft, distant hooting of a pair of Great Horned Owls as autumn brings the beginning of their courtship season and an increase in vocalizations. Cooler nights have arrived in the hill country, turning the Sugarberry leaves from lime green to gold. Listeners will notice how the rhythm of the cricket song has slowed considerably from the rapid, lively trills of summer, settling into a gentler, more measured chorus as autumn deepens.

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Recorded on October 10, 2026 on the sleeping porch, this is the sound of a delicate late-afternoon rainshower accompanied by the evening chorus of birds and the gentle notes of rain falling on the rain drum. A Northern Mockingbird takes center stage, offering a series of soft melodies as the day draws to a close. Listeners will also hear Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, American Crow, Chipping Sparrow and American Robin through the light patter of rain on the metal roof.

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Recorded on October 8, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a nighttime chorus of crickets and katydids beneath the Draconid meteor shower. Rising softly above the steady rhythm of insects are the distant hoots of a Great Horned Owl, establishing its territory and beginning its courtship calls as autumn settles over the hill country. This recording is best heard in a quiet setting, ideal for deep relaxation or drifting off to sleep.

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Recorded on October 5, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a breezy autumn day in the pasture. Listeners will hear psithurism moving through the towering Blackjack Oaks and the fall song of a Northern Mockingbird establishing its winter territory in the American Beautyberry and Blackberry thicket below.

The Northern Mockingbird’s fall song is remarkably different from its spring song, with only about 1% of its songs shared between the two seasons. Females are also much more likely to sing in fall than during the spring and summer. Listeners will also hear American Crows and Blue Ja...

Recorded on September 3, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of morning in the fall garden. Crickets and grasshoppers are bursting with life, while dozens of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds crowd the garden feeders during the peak of fall migration, fueling up for their long journey south. Dog-day Cicadas sing from the loblolly pines, reveling in the heat wave. Other birds raise their voices in the morning chorus, but it is the insect musicians who steal the show. Listeners will hear American Crow, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Wood-Pewee, House Finch and White-breasted Nuthatch.

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Recorded on September 11, 2026 on the sleeping porch, this is the sound of scattered thundershowers moving across the pasture beneath a particularly colorful sunset. Listeners will hear light rain falling on the metal roof, dripping onto the rain drum and deep rolls of thunder as the storm begins to break apart. As the rain moves on and daylight fades, cricket song rises from the fall-blooming plants and grasses.

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Recorded on September 4, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a late-summer night chorus beneath a sky full of stars and waxing gibbous moon. Crickets and katydids fill the darkness with rattles, chirps and trills, joined by the fading buzz of a few late-summer cicadas as the season begins to turn toward fall.

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Recorded on September 6, 2026 in the Cold Springs woods, this is the sound of a dawn chorus beneath a setting waning crescent moon. Chirping crickets provide a steady rhythm as blue hour gives way to dawn and the quiet woods awaken to birdsong at the turn of the season. 

The clear, metallic song of a Hooded Warbler stands out from the early September chorus, its four or five notes ringing through the woods in a distinctive weeta-weeta-weet-tee-o, often remembered as “Richie Rich, I’m right here.” Other birds include: Summer Tanager, Yellow-throated Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Ja...

Recorded on August 30, 2026 at the prairie remnant along Cold Springs Road, this is the sound of a dawn chorus of insects and birds as summer begins to loosen its grip on the hill country. After a record-hot August, fall-blooming plants are beginning to flower, with hardy Partridge Pea and Little Bluestem shining despite the heat. Migrating birds are beginning to pass through the hill country, joining resident birds as summer winds down. Crickets and a couple swamp cicadas provide a steady late-summer backdrop for Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Summer Tanager, Common Yellowthroat, White-eyed Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay...

Recorded on August 28, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a late-summer morning chorus as the first wave of Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration brings a growing charm of hummingbirds to Heart Place. Listeners will hear the whir of their wings and chatter of their calls as they dart among the fall-blooming plants and feeders. Joining the morning chorus are Killdeer, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-shouldered Hawk, Summer Tanager, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, Yellow-throated Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker and Eastern Bluebird.

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Recorded on August 26, 2026 on the sleeping porch, this is the sound of a late-summer night chorus while the Night-blooming Cereus, also known as Queen of the Night, is in bloom. Insect musicians chirp, click, zip, rattle and lisp through in the humid landscape as the flower opens for the night. Though the Night-blooming Cereus is a tropical plant, it has an interesting place in Southern culture. In the 1930s, Eudora Welty, one of the recordist’s favorite authors, formed the Night-Blooming Cereus Club, gathering with friends for late-night watch parties on her porch when the plant came into bloom.

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Recorded on August 21, 2026 on the sleeping porch, this is the sound of a late-summer thunderstorm breaking a weeklong heat wave. Big thunderheads build at sundown, sending rolling thunder across the hill country followed by brilliant flashes of lightning watched from the shelter of the dogtrot sleeping porch. Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear an hour of this rich summer storm as rolling thunder and rain on the metal roof & rain drum gradually fade into evening cricket chirps and the steady dripfall from towering oaks in the pasture.

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Recorded on August 16, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a summer morning in the middle of an August heat wave. The steady trill of field crickets provides a backdrop for the morning chorus, with Eastern Wood-Pewee, American Crow, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Tufted Titmouse, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Carolina Wren and Mourning Dove.This recording is best heard in a quiet setting perfect for meditating or a moment of stillness.

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Recorded on August 12, 2026 on the Way Out West Deck, this is the sound of a nighttime insect chorus beneath the Perseid meteor shower and a dark new moon sky. The rhythmic chorus of crickets and katydids fills the summer night, creating a gentle lullaby well suited for relaxing, meditating or drifting off to sleep.

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Recorded on August 7, 2026 on the sleeping porch at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a late afternoon pop-up thundershower, one of those sudden Mississippi summer storms born from the heat of an August afternoon. Listeners will hear approaching thunderclouds followed by increasing rain falling softly on the metal roof and onto the rain drum. A soothing summer storm, perfect for relaxing or clearing the mind.

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Recorded on August 8, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of late-summer dawn as blue hour gives way to first light. After an evening of rainshowers, the morning begins cool and dewy, with the first birdsong rising through the pasture and garden.

A charm of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds takes center stage with the males’ monotonous dawn chip calls, rapid sputtering zeeekididid chase calls and the whir of their wings. Beneath it all, crickets provide a steady trill as the morning chorus builds with Blue Grosbeak, White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Wood-Pewee, American Crow, House Finch, Indigo Bunting, Blue Jay, Ca...

Recorded on Aug 6, 2026 in the prairie remnants along Cold Springs Road, this is the sound of an insect chorus on a warm August night. Listeners will hear bush and tree katydids, crickets and cicadas delightfully pulsating in the trees and weedy plants along the gravel roadside. The foreground features the raspy rattle of a trio of Lesser Angle-wing katydids in conversation.

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Recorded on July 26, 2026 at Wall Doxey State Park in Holly Springs, this is the sound of a summer night chorus of insects and amphibians. The stars of the night are a colony of Green Frogs with their explosive glunk calls, the long, buzzing beeeeeeeeeeee of Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toads and the distant, high whistles of Bird-voiced Treefrogs. Beneath their voices, katydids, cicadas and crickets weave a constant summer drone. Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear an hour of this green noise, suited for quiet meditation or drifting off to sleep.

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Recorded on July 26, 2026 on the sleeping porch at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a gentle summer rainshower. Listeners will hear soft rain falling on the metal roof and rain drum as the passing shower drifts away, giving way to the chatter of birds in the garden.

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Recorded on July 26, 2026 at Spring Lake, this is the sound of a summer night at the 60-acre spring-fed lake at Wall Doxey State Park. Beneath a 95% waxing gibbous moon reflected among towering Bald Cypress, warm, humid air rising after several days of rain drapes a light veil of fog across the lake where listeners will hear a chorus of summer cicadas, crickets & katydids, joined by Southern Cricket Frogs, Green Frogs and the high whistle of Bird-voiced Treefrogs calling through the steamy summer night.

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Recorded on July 19, 2026 at the woods' edge around Bullfrog Pond, this is the sound of the first birdsong in the pre-dawn. Against a backdrop of steadily trilling crickets and the occasional calls of a Southern Cricket Frogs, the day begins with the clear, whistled song of an Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Listeners will also hear Summer Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Wood Thrush, Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, Carolina Wren, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Towhee and Mourning Dove as the sun peeks above the horizon.

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Recorded on July 20, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of hot summer day giving way to hot summer night. As the last birds finish their evening songs, katydids, cicadas and crickets steadily build the summer night chorus. Dusk-singing cicadas take center stage while Eastern Wood-Pewee, Northern Cardinal and Ruby-throated Hummingbird offer their final calls before settling in to roost for the night.

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Recorded on July 12, 2026 on the sleeping porch, this is the sound of a light rainshower at daybreak. Rain falls gently on the metal roof while crickets and katydids yield to the morning chorus as a new summer day begins over the pasture.

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Recorded on July 8, 2026 on the sleeping porch, this is the sound of summer dawn chorus in the pasture. A Meadow Katydid, perhaps an Agile Meadow Katydid, is heard in the foreground, its rapid series of ticks followed by a buzzy trill as blue hour gives way to dawn. As the morning brightens, towering thunderclouds build over the hill country, sending deep rolls of thunder echoing across the hills.

Listeners will hear Summer Tanager, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, House Finch, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Kingbird...

Recorded on July 6, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of the July dawn chorus. Eastern Bluebird and Northern Cardinal greet the morning, joined by Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Mourning Dove, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue Jay, Summer Tanager, Eastern Kingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Wood Thrush, Carolina Wren, Yellow-throated Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Carolina Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Orchard Oriole, Red-eyed Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker, American Crow, Baltimore Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher and American Robin. Listeners will also hear the calls of a Squirrel Treefrog and the chatter of an Eastern Gray Squirrel.

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Recorded on June 29, 2026 at Heart Place, this is the sound of the summer insect chorus under a rising full Strawberry Moon. Listeners will hear an extended recording of evening cicadas, katydids, crickets and frogs, with the occasional rumbling chatter of a litter of raccoon kits. Well suited for meditation, quiet reflection or focused work.

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Recorded on June 20, 2026, this is the sound of a late afternoon thundershower bringing a deep, soaking rain to the hill country. Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear more than 80 minutes of steady rainfall recorded from an open kitchen window at the dogtrot. The rain coaxes a Squirrel Treefrog into song, joined by Southern Cricket Frogs calling from Bullfrog Pond. Once the rain quiets, listeners will also hear the Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Hooded Warbler, Northern Cardinal and House Finch.

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Recorded on June 19, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of afternoon thunder as pop-up storms gather over the hill country. The garden is buzzing with birds and bees. Orchard and Baltimore Orioles take center stage while Ruby-throated Hummingbirds chase one another through the flowers, their rapid wingbeats audible from a courtship display.

Listeners will also hear Northern Parula, American Crow, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Fish Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Mourning Dove, House Sparrow, Red-eyed Vireo, Chipping Sparrow, Yellow-throated Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Goldfinch, American Robin, Indigo Bunting and Purple Martin...

Recorded on June 20, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of an afternoon rainshower settling over the pasture. The light summer shower seems to please the birds, who continue singing while foraging and preening in the soft rain.

Listeners will hear Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Parula, House Finch, Downy Woodpecker, Red-eyed Vireo, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Purple Martin, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hooded Warbler and Wood Thrush. Sounds Southern Extended will hear over an hour of the gentle summer sounds, perfect for relaxing or meditating.

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Recorded on June 18, 2026 at the dogtrot, this is the sound of a summer insect chorus of katydids, crickets and cicadas. Overhead, a slender waxing crescent moon hangs above the western horizon while a striking planetary alignment places Venus, Jupiter and Mercury together in the night sky.

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Recorded on June 13, 2026 at the dogtrot on the Moonpie Deck, this is the sound of the summer dawn chorus in the garden. Crickets greet the morning alongside the buzz of honeybees and the hum of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, while the male hummingbirds delivers their distinctive daybreak chip song. The chorus includes Wood Thrush, American Crow, Red-winged Blackbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Pine Warbler, Tufted Titmouse, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Carolina Wren, Purple Martin, Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Parula, Indigo Bunting, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Prairie Warbler, House Finch, Great Crested Flycatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Pileated Woodpecker and Blue Jay.

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Recorded on May 31, 2026 on the sleeping porch, this is the sound of a midnight rainshower. Crickets and frogs continue their nighttime chorus as rain dances across the metal roof and plays the raindrum.

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Recorded on May 20, 2026 in the woods at Cold Springs, this is the sound of an evening frog chorus following a day of rain and warm temperatures. As darkness settles over the woods, frogs flock to the ephemeral pools, seeps and flooded low places in search of mates, filling the woods with a layered chorus of calls. Listeners will hear the hollow bark of the Barking Treefrog, the rising waaaa of Fowler’s Toads, the resonant glunk of Green Frogs, the chuckling calls of Southern Leopard Frogs and the musical trills of American Toads. Together they create a rich soundtrack to a...

Recorded on May 31, 2026 at Heart Place, this is the sound of the dawn chorus in the pasture near Heart Pond. As the first light spreads across the field, Indigo Bunting, Wood Thrush, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal and Mourning Dove greet the day, joined by Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, Yellow-throated Warbler, Summer Tanager and Blue Grosbeak. Other voices in the chorus include Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird, Carolina Wren, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Flicker, American Robin, Great Crested Flycatcher, Northern Parula, Chimney Swift, Red-bellied Woodpecker, American Crow, Common Yellowthroat, Red-eyed Vireo, Chipping Sparrow...

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.

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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...

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.

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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...

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...

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.

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