Monday 3 June 2013

Sounds of Summer: Crickets and Night Hawks

While walking in Mount Royal Cemetery on Saturday I was surprised and delighted to here a cricket.  Usually they come later in the season, but perhaps the very warm weather had spurred this one along.

Over the weekend, I heard nighthawks too.  They usually arrive a week or so earlier, and I'd begun to wonder if they were running into the same sort of problems a number of birds seem to.  Pierre Gingras, who keeps track of birds and flowers on Radio Canada, lamented in early May that he hadn't seen any swallows, even though he keeps a variety of swallow hotels on his property.

After I heard that I keep listening for the chitter of  swallows, and was saddened not to hear any for some time.  But then a week ago the morning silence was broken by the sounds of several swallows chittering as they breakfasted.  Maybe there was something different this year with the timing of insect hatches that delayed the two species.

Early crickets?  Late midges and June flies?  Is anybody keeping track?

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