Summer Sounds

🎧 Stream in Mediterranean forest

By the Bazágueda River, a shallow, light-reflecting stream surrounded by Mediterranean forest, on a sunny afternoon made fresh by the trees which creak like a door: butterflies and metallic blue dragonflies were dancing in pairs over the clear water – so relaxing one could easily fall asleep leaning against a tree trunk.

🎧 Storm on Velebit Mountain

A comfortably soothing one-hour summer storm (thunder, pouring rain – the whole package) on Velebit, the largest mountain range in Croatia. 

🎧 Italian countryside

The Italian countryside is brimful with pockets of nature and beautiful soundscapes. Compared to other parts of Europe, the agriculture in these regions seems to more carefully integrate wildlife: vineyards and groves of olive trees are interspersed with wildflower meadows and little stands of woodland; organic wineries using natural fertilizers or terraced vineyards are in abundance; land is not fenced, so animals can roam freely, and country roads are one-lane affairs that call for low-speed travel even for vehicles. While there is a fair bit of man-made sound, biodiversity levels seem great and the number of audible species is surprisingly high.

🎧 Evening in the mountains of Thailand

Recorded in the cool montane forests of far north-west Thailand, this evening soundscape features the sounds of crickets and a gentle breeze blowing through oak and pine trees. A Hodgson’s frogmouth squawks occasionally in the distance. These forests support a range of species similar to those in the evergreen Himalayan foothills, and are an oasis of life in a region where many surrounding areas have been cleared or significantly altered.

🎧 Frogs and toads, cicadas, crickets and fireflies by the Atlantic Ocean

This soundscape was recorded in a small village in Brazil called Trinidad. This fishing town, four hours from Rio de Janeiro, is part of the Serra da Bocaina Reserve – in turn, part of the Serra do Mar, one of the biggest natural parks in Brazil, which contains the 1,500 km long Serra do Mar system of mountain ranges and escarpments  and parts of the Atlantic Forest. The area is a well preserved area in terms of biodiversity; in this audio you can hear different species of frogs and toads, cicadas, crickets, and fireflies, with the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean and a small river in the background.

🎧 Bonfire and distant crickets at Farallones de Sutatausa

These natural sounds were recorded in the small village of Sutatausa, Colombia, two and a half hours from Bogotá. This is a rocky and dry rural area which features mountainous formations called farallones. This recording, made on a cold, moonless, and windy night, includes a campfire surrounded by various insects. 

Nearby is a coal mine, which contaminates the water of the few rivers born in the mountains – something which could irreversibly affect the local flora and fauna and lead to the disappearance of this soundscape. Not a pretty summer intermezzo, but one we have to mention. 

🎧 Soft morning with water and birdsong

Early summer in the majestic mountains of northern Greece: a wild, forested valley under high, vertical peaks. Birds chirp, soft water streams, and wind blows over the mountain tops in this peaceful and calming place.

🎧 Olympic National Park

This 20 minute sound journey through the USA’s Olympic National Park features Pacific chorus frogs, a dawn chorus by the Hoh River, huge waves crashing on Rialto Beach, and a haunting howling recorded inside the hollow of a dead Sitka spruce.

🎧 Pyrenean woods in a thundery rainstorm

A rainstorm recorded under a canopy of trees: gentle splats on the leaves and woodland floor, foregrounded against a backdrop of watery white noise and the constant rumble of thunder echoing around the surrounding mountains.

What’s your favorite summer sound? Have you managed to find it on earth.fm?