Things That Go Bump—or Hoot—in the Night: 5 Animals You May Hear While Camping in Your Yard

Laura Tangley — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:51:29 +0000

Welcome to June, officially designated as Great Outdoors Month by the federal government and several states across the country. Here at the National Wildlife Federation, we’ll be celebrating the outdoors in a big way on June 23 with NWF’s Great American Backyard Campout.

If you participate–and we hope you do–here’s an idea for something to do in the dark without your television or computer handy. Just sit quietly and listen! Depending on where you live, you’re likely to hear one or more of the following animals vocalizing sometime between sunset and sunrise.

1. Owls

Barred Owl by Peggy Hanna

North American owls range in size from the tiny elf owl—at 5¾ inches, the world’s smallest owl species—to the great horned owl, a powerful predator that is nearly 2 feet long. Ecologically, owls are similar to hawks but hunt at night rather than during the day. Both owls and hawks have plumage that is primarily brown, rust, black and white. Differences stem from owls’ nocturnal hunting. The birds have round facial discs, for instance, that focus sound waves to highly sensitive ear openings. And owls’ eyes are specially adapted to gather what little light may be available at night.

Listen to the “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?” call of the barred owl:

Click here to view the embedded video.

2. Katydids

Katydid by Katherine Clifton

Closely related to grasshoppers and crickets, katydids sing at night during the warm months throughout much of North America. Males do the singing in order to attract mates and establish territories. Their songs are produced by rubbing a set of tiny pegs, called a file, at the base of one wing against a strong ridge, called a scraper, on the other wing. Each katydid species has its own unique song, which both males and females can hear with ears that are located on the insects’ forelegs.

Listen to the sound of katydids singing at night:

Click here to view the embedded video.

3. Frogs

Frog Close-up by Evan Gracie

Scientists have described nearly 6,000 frog species, and these amphibians live pretty much everywhere on Earth except in Antarctica. The United States and Canada are home to about 100 species. Spring is the time to start listening for frogs such as spring peepers and wood frogs. Other species wait until the weather warms. Frog calls also are slower at low temperatures because muscles that make the sounds move more slowly. Frogs around the world are in trouble: About 120 species have gone extinct in recent years, and one-third to one-half of the others are a risk.

Listen to frogs calling at night:

Click here to view the embedded video.

4. Crickets

Field Crickets by Gail Napor

Nothing evokes a warm summer night quite like the soothing sound of crickets chirping. Like katydids, male crickets sing to attract mates and create their species-specific songs by rubbing their wings together. At 77 degrees F, field crickets chirp about two or three times per second, slowing down when the temperature drops. Crickets, katydids and grasshoppers all belong to insect order Orthoptera, which includes some 21,400 known species worldwide, about 1,200 of them found in North America north of Mexico.

Listen to crickets chirping at night:

Click here to view the embedded video.

5. Mockingbirds

Northern Mockingbirds by Dennis Raffelson

During the breeding season, many songbirds begin their dawn chorus well before sleepy campers crawl out of their tents. But if you hear a bird singing loudly (perhaps annoyingly) in the middle of the night, it’s likely to be the northern mockingbird. Skilled mimics, mockingbirds put together long, complex songs by combining imitations of other bird species (and sometimes non-avian sounds). The birds continue adding new sounds to their repertoires as long as they live. Males, which sing more often and louder than females, may learn some 200 different songs during their lives.

Listen to one northern mockingbird’s amazing song:

Click here to view the embedded video.

All of the photos above were donated by past participants in the National Wildlife® Photo Contest. To enter your best shots in this year’s competition, visit the contest site.

Explore More: Check out five animal species you may see in your backyard at night. To learn more about nocturnal wildlife and how to attract and nurture native species that come out after the sun sets, read “Enjoying the Nightlife” by Janet Marinelli in National Wildlife magazine.

Certify Your Property: Make your backyard more attractive to wildlife active both day and night by turning it into an NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat® site.

7 Animals to Bring You Good Luck

Anne Senft — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:49:19 +0000

Butterfly alighting on a fellow traveler (Photo: Anne Senft)

While on a National Wildlife Federation Expedition to Belize, I witnessed a lovely butterfly landing on the hat of a fellow traveler. It was right then and there that I first learned that a butterfly alighting on you was a sign of good luck. (Needless to say, this was great news for me as it meant I could stop picking up random pennies!) Besides butterflies, what other animals are believed to bring good luck?

Dolphins – Dolphins are considered lucky in many different cultures. For Christians and Native Americans, the dolphin is a symbol of protection, and its image is said to bring good luck. The belief stems from the fact that ancient sailors who spent months or even years away from land found the sight of dolphins swimming around their ships to be the first indication that land was near.

Red Bats – In China, red bats are symbols of long life and amulets are worn as lucky charms that bring happiness. The red bat is thought to ward off evil. Five red bats can also represent the “five good fortunes” of health, longevity, love, wealth and virtue.

Crickets – A cricket on the hearth has been a sign of household luck for thousands of years. In the Far East as well as across Europe, it’s considered very bad luck to kill a cricket, even by accident. And, besides being good luck charms, crickets can also tell you the temperature.

Tortoises – Tortoises are considered a good luck symbol in Feng-Shui decorating. The tortoise is one of the four celestial animals in feng shui; the others are dragon, phoenix and tiger.

Scarabs- Dating back to Ancient Egypt, scarabs have been considered symbols of the rising sun and a protector from evil. The scarab is also a symbol of rebirth, regeneration and transformation.

Photo: Donated by Tianne Strombeck

Frogs– Frogs have been a symbol of prosperity, wealth, friendship and abundance in many cultures and a symbol of fertility in others. For the Romans, the frog was a mascot believed to bring good luck to one’s home. The native Aborigines of Australia believed that frogs brought the thunder and rain, to help the plants to grow.

Symbolically adopt a frog, dolphin or tortoise, by visiting NWF’s Adoption Center.

Attract butterflies, frogs and other wildlife to your backyard through NWF’s Certified Wildlife Habitat(r) program.

Source: 50 Good Luck Symbols From Around The World

Wildlife Promise » crickets

Things That Go Bump—or Hoot—in the Night: 5 Animals You May Hear While Camping in Your Yard

1. Owls

2. Katydids

3. Frogs

4. Crickets

5. Mockingbirds

7 Animals to Bring You Good Luck