by Max Frankenberry, Assistant Bird Bander
Jackson Hole has officially entered the season of sun and snowmelt. Tourists are making their way through town to and from the parks, and the bustle around downtown Jackson has gotten exponentially louder. But step outside of downtown to the National Elk Refuge, a Cache Creek trailhead or even your own backyard, and you notice that human sounds aren’t the only noises that get louder this time of year. Choruses of birds at dawn, trills of surprised ground squirrels in the afternoons and the croaks of frogs in the evening remind us that this is quite the time to be alive in the mountains.
Boreal chorus frog – Gibbon Meadows; Credit: Neal Herbert; May 2014
These symphonies are enjoyable and relaxing to say the least, but they can also be valuable identification tools for Nature Mappers! Learning to ID bird songs, frog calls and even mammal sounds opens your range of observation drastically. Boreal Chorus frogs may be experts at wetland camouflage, and can even avoid our eyes when we’re right on top of them, but learn to recognize their calls and those hidden creatures become as obvious as a moose in the sagebrush. And what better time to start than the summertime! Many species are the most vocal during this time of year, and a walk down your street in the early morning or in the evening can be a great place to begin soaking in those summer sounds.
Wildlife Identification by Ear Resources
Attached below are some excellent resources for learning amphibian and bird songs in particular. Our Nature Mapping database has been especially lacking in amphibian observations, and we know they are out there! Identifying wildlife by ear is a valuable skill, and practice makes perfect. The more practice you put in, the more species you can confidently Nature Map this summer!
Calls of Wyoming’s Frogs and Toads – https://www.wyomingbiodiversity.org/index.php/Initiatives-Programs/CitSci/rocky-mountain-amphibian-project/wyomings-amphibians/amphibian-calls
Bird ID Skills: How to Learn Bird Songs and Calls – https://www.allaboutbirds.org/how-to-learn-bird-songs-and-calls/
Mammals Sound Gallery – http://www.bioacoustica.org/gallery/mammals_eng.html
