When we think of a swamp, we think about sweating and mosquitoes. Yet if you listen to a swamp, there is much more to hear than just the droning of hungry mosquitoes. Not too far away from my place, there are some swamps. Some call them ponds, but since you could nearly walk from one end to the other, getting your knees muddy in the process, I think these can be called swamps.
Here in Nova Scotia, swamps do not contain alligators or any other animal that wants to consume you. Apart from some mosquitoes, perhaps. The swamp in this post is close to the beach, giving me some relief from the mozzies.
The swamp in question is just behind the beach and the dunes. It’s in a provincial park, with a parking lot and usually plenty of people. So I went there early in the morning. Early enough to imagine alarm clocks going off in the not-too-far-away houses… A swamp is a busy place, at least if it is not polluted in any way.
What you will hear in this one is the trilling Red-Winged Blackbird, a bunch of little birds and the “Twang” of an apparently broken ukulele. When I was a kid, I imagined making a guitar from a cardboard box and some rubber bands. This sounds the same.
However, these are Green Frogs, and they are surprisingly loud. In the background, there is some faraway traffic, as well as the waves on the beach.
Enjoy the ambience with your eyes closed and the volume up as loud as makes you still comfortable…
Until next time…