Sounds Southern

Recorded on November 1, 2026 at the dogtrot during the blue hour before dawn, this is the sound of an autumn storm front moving through the hill country, its clouds bringing much-needed rain that continues into the morning. Listeners will hear light to moderate rainfall, creating a soothing green noise ideal for relaxation and sleep. Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear distant rolls of thunder, the bird chorus emerging through the rain as dawn breaks and the melodic notes of the rain drum tuned to the Akimbo scale.

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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 Jays calling across the pasture, while a few lingering Ruby-throated Hummingbirds add their chatter and the whir of their wings to the autumn afternoon.

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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 Jay, Acadian Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Parula, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Flicker, Carolina Wren, American Crow, Mourning Dove, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Cardinal, Great Crested Flycatcher, Carolina Chickadee, Wood Thrush, Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-eyed Vireo, Brown Thrasher & American Robin.

Sounds Southern Extended listeners will hear more than 40 minutes of September birdsong beneath the fading moon along with chirping crickets, buzzing cicadas and the chatter barks of an Eastern Gray Squirrel.

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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, Wood Thrush, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Gray Catbird, Red-eyed Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Carolina Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker and American Crow.

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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, Carolina Wren, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, House Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Downy Woodpecker, Mourning Dove and Red-bellied Woodpecker.

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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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