Lang Elliott, author and coauthor of many fabulous compilations of nature sounds (the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, Frogs and Toads of North America, Songs of Insects, and many more) has just (finally!) released his much-anticipated CD of Frog Concertos. No narration, nothing to get in the way of the sounds of these wonderful little critters. Just 20 tracks, 1.2 hours (118.6MB in my iTunes), of frog recordings.
Downloadable through Amazon, or you can buy the CD from the author’s website. He has also posted descriptions of the songs (where and when recorded, what species are on the track) to the website, for those of you who might like to know more about what you’re listening to. Here is an excerpt of his description of one of my favorite tracks, Track 9 (I like this track because it’s so richly layered, with insect sounds, treefrog sounds, and pig frogs, all of which can be heard in my neck of the woods, in addition to Saint Marks NWR where he recorded it):
Saint Marks Rainfrogs. The rough nasal quank, quank, quank of Green Treefrogs is a signature sound of southern swamps. Green Treefrogs dominate the chorus in this recording made at the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge near Tallahassee, Florida (May 8, 1988). Listen also for the throaty grunts of Pig Frogs, the bellowing notes of Bullfrogs, and the high-pitched trills of crickets.
You have to admire someone who puts this much love and attention to detail into his work. Well, you don’t have to, but I sure do.
I just downloaded the set this morning, and am already on my second listen-through. It’s so much more conducive to the type of work I do than the radio that our office is constantly playing. My coworkers have asked me what “that squeaking noise” is, and I’ve already started spreading the gospel. Give it a listen! You’ll be glad you did.
To find out more about the frogs we have here in Florida, click here or here.