October 19, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
I have often
sat and listened to the sounds of the desert while visiting Lost
Dutchman State Park or some isolated locale in the Superstition
Wilderness Area. The collection of sounds that can be found in or on the
desert alluvial fans, flats, spires, and deep canyons and mountains of
the Sonoran Desert could fill a symphony hall with hundreds of different
sounds and tones, these sound events being very acoustical in the open
desert.
This description may not be the most
accurate and even sometimes it may be far reaching, however it can give
us a special feeling for what the desert is like we live in. The roar of
thunder, a blinding flash of light from cloud to ground, followed by
the sound of summer hail crashing down on Creosote, Bursage, Mesquite,
Palo Verde, Ironwood and the giant Saguaros can ring loud in sensory
perception of the desert. This is the opening bar of a “Desert
Symphony.”
The pungent odor of the Creosote bush,
the smell of the dampened earth, and the cool moist breeze that flows
through the Saguaros, Chollas, and Prickley Pears after a desert
thunderstorm is musical to one’s ears. This is the body of a desert
thunderstorm in the Superstition Mountains.
When the sky clears and the moon shines
bright the mountain begins to rumble deep from within the Earth. The
Thunder God is awakening to the call of the desert. Some listen
carefully and take warning from this mountain roar so far away.
The desert symphony continues to call
together its followers. Now we can hear the distant call of a lonely
Coyote. The squeal of a terrified Cottontail rabbit echoes through the
air. You can hear the hoot of a Barn owl or the screech of a Screech
Owl. The buzz of a rattlesnake warns all intruders not to tread on him.
The night air is filled with the music of the desert symphony.
The sky turns golden with red streaks as
the orb of the sun begins to rise above the horizon. We can still hear
the distant call of a Coyote serenading the desert. The call of the
quail can be heard through the Jojoba bush. You can hear the melodic
call of the Cactus wren, Mourning dove, and the Curve-Bill thrasher. As
the sun rises in the eastern sky the symphony’s crescendo is near.
Walking along a path we can see ants
scurrying about looking for food. We can see a variety of reptiles
crawling from one place to another searching for a meal. Bees are
humming about searching for nectar in the cool morning air. As the
temperature rises the buzz of Black gnats becomes the resounding echo of
the desert. The desert symphony continues to play its way through the
various bars of this melody.
We listen careful for even more sounds
from our desert symphony. The noisy call of the Black raven and the
whistle of the wind through the wing feathers of a Turkey buzzard
circling above all add to our desert musical.
Near a desert seep you can hear a frog
call to its mate. A Canyon wren chirps out a call to another. A large
Chuckwalla searches for food while slowly moving about.
Bees continue to circulate around the
water also searching for sweet desert nectar. Water is the root of all
survival here in the desert. It is water that keeps the desert symphony
sounding its melody. Those who walk these paths through the desert can
write their own bars to this beautiful symphony of life in the desert
and continue this serenade.
Our love for the desert is tested each
day as more and more rooftops dot landscape and our beloved desert
symphony slowly disappears.
The day will come when most of the
desert is gone with its special collection of animals and those who
care. Far beyond our dreams and expectations lies the memory of what was
once a unique and very special desert symphony.
But, the call of the wild is still there as it rings across this land.