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Sparrows Sing in Arizona Monsoon

Relief is coming to the desert!
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Rufous-winged Sparrow
© Patty Bruno

Midday temperatures in southeast Arizona soar above 100 degrees during the month of July. But relief is coming. A summer monsoon refreshes the Sonoran Desert like a second spring. Grass grows lush, wildflowers spring forth, and birds sing. Cassin’s Sparrows sing their plaintive phrases almost nonstop. Botteri’s Sparrows add their distinctive sputters and trills. And a Rufous-winged Sparrow — like the one pictured here — voices its gentle melody.

The sounds heard in this episode were recorded by Gordon Hempton and provided courtesy of QuietPlanet.com.

  • Full Transcript
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BirdNote®

Sparrows Sing in the Arizona Monsoon

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[Arizona desert summer soundscape just before the thunderstorm]

In July in Southeast Arizona, midday temperatures soar above 100 degrees. A cicada’s high-pitched whine adds an edge to the searing heat.  [Intense whine of cicadas in Arizona desert heat]

But relief is coming.  [Lightning and thunder] 

The monsoon season begins. Winds from the south draw tropical moisture northward into the Sonoran Desert. Moist air colliding with intense heat and mountainous terrain breeds epic thunderstorms. [Continue thunderstorm fading to rain and aftermath]

Rainfall rejuvenates the arid land. Grass grows lush, wildflowers spring forth, gullies once dusty now rush with water. [Rushing rain water]

And birds sing. [Cassin’s Sparrow song] Cassin’s Sparrows have waited for the late summer rains to begin their courtship. Now the males sing their plaintive phrases almost nonstop. [Cassin’s Sparrow song] Botteri’s Sparrows add their distinctive sputters and trills. And a Rufous-winged Sparrow voices its gentle melody. [Rufous-winged Sparrow song] [Thunderstorm and rain]

 The summer monsoon refreshes the desert world like a second spring. [Cassin’s Sparrow song] 

The soundscapes featured in today’s show were recorded by Gordon Hempton and provided courtesy of QuietPlanet.com. Listen again at BirdNote.org.

###

Desert thunder birds + high-pitched whine of insects + rainy desert thunder recorded by Gordon Hempton of QuietPlanet.com. Also, sounds from Hempton’s Essentials – thunder #7 and rain storm aftermath #15.
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Song of Cassin’s Sparrow [50231] recorded G.A. Keller; Song of Botteri’s Sparrow [112634] recorded by C.A.Marantz; Rufous-winged Sparrow [112637] recorded by C.A. Marantz.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson

© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org    July 2018/2019   Narrator: Michael Stein

ID#  sonorandesert-01-2013-07-26          sonorandesert-01 

Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Michael Stein
Narrator
Patty Bruno
Photographer
Support More Shows Like This
TagsArizona Southwest desert

Related Resources

Learn more about Gordon HemptonVisit QuietPlanet.comCheck out the Sonoran Desert National MonumentCassin's Sparrow - More at All About BirdsBotteri's Sparrow - More at All About BirdsRufous-winged Sparrow - More at All About Birds

More About These Birds

Cassin's Sparrow (Peucaea cassinii)

Peucaea cassinii

Rufous-winged Sparrow (Peucaea carpalis)

Peucaea carpalis

Botteri's Sparrow (Peucaea botterii)

Peucaea botterii

Sights & Sounds

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