Backyard Nature: In August, the birds mute their songs, and new sounds fill the air

Snowy tree cricket (photo © SongsofInsects.com. Click here to listen and learn more.

by Marlene Berlin

As July turns into August, the sounds of nature change, too.

It is too late now to hear the songs of most birds. Even the wood thrush, whose trills filled the air only three months ago, has stopped its singing.

Now, the contributors to the chorus are more likely to have four or six legs than two. Insects are taking a starring role, especially in the early morning or in the evening when the sun goes down. Listen for cicadas, katydids, crickets and grasshoppers.

And if you walk along Linnean Avenue by Broad Branch Stream, you can hear the green frogs singing along.