Night chorus of amphibians and insects at Rio Viejo, Puriscal

Frogs mating in Rio Viejo, Puriscal

This time of year the Rio Viejo is full of frogs, toads and tadpoles. I have to be very careful not to step on any of the hundreds of tiny amphibians along the river bank. I have seen all of the usual fish and evidence of many shorebirds enjoying the feast. 

Not sure if this is a frog or toad, it's less than 1/2 inch long.

Many years ago a friend was visiting from the states. Shortly after sunset the night chorus began. I was used to hearing the various sounds, but it was new for our friend. He thought it sounded like monks chanting at the river. From that day forward I have labeled the nighttime amphibian sounds as monks. 

This week I decided to do a sound recording of the chorus from the patio of our house. The quality would have been much better at the river below, but I wasn't up for carrying my gear down the concrete stairs in the dark. I recorded two nights in a row. The first night was with the camera's built-in microphone and the second night I used an external microphone. The results from the external mic was superior. The camera was focused on twinkling lights in the valley. I was happy with this recording but wanted to try again a few days later with the full moon.

Ripples in a large pool of water full of tadpoles.

Oddly enough, the following three nights there were no monks performing at the river. The night sounds were reduced to crickets. I found this very strange. I'm happy I got the sound recording I did and maybe another time they will perform with the full moon.