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Soundscape: the sum total of sound in an environment, made up of geophony, biophony, and anthrophony.  (more on soundscapes here)

Soundscape Catalogue

THE SOUNDSCAPE CATALOGUE           new sounds twice weekly   

All recordings and photos by Patrick Harlin

Soundscapes of marshy Michigan in Spring. Lots of redwing blackbird vocalizations. Some cardinals, what else?



Recorded on the Sony PCM-D100.



After 17 years underground, the Brood-X cicadas have emerged in the tens of millions in Ann Arbor. Once above ground, the cicadas shed their exoskeleton, dry out their wings, and fill them with a fluid to add structural integrity. You can see a recently shed exoskeleton in the video below

In much of the forest, the ground appears to be moving. Here is what any branch in the immediate vicinity looks like at the moment. In the video, because the cicadas have just emerged, it is relatively quiet.


Just a day or two later, you can hear the cicada chorus, accompanying the massive above-ground orgy to close out their 17 year life cycle. It is impressive in the volume of bugs and the volume of sound they create.


Listen to the chorus of Brood-X

Not much can cut through the chorus of millions of cicadas. For comparison you can hear the forest just a few days earlier.

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