Our ears have become slaves to the rumble of traffic, blaring radios and roaring jets.
City-bound people rarely find relief from these man-made sounds. Most of the time we unconsciously filter them out but we are never free of them. There are thousands of hectares of forest, hundreds of ponds and small lakes in Prince Albert National Park, where our ears and minds are given a chance to rest, and savour silence and the sounds of nature.
Sounds of the boreal forest may be unfamiliar but they can take on meaning and inspiration if you really listen. From the top of a decaying tree stump in a clearing comes a series of deep thumps. The intervals between thumps shorten and this drumming intensifies until the beats come so fast you expect the source to explode. Grouse drumming is associated with courtship and reproduction, however this characteristic sound can be heard throughout summer and autumn.
Grouse drum at a frequency so low that it is beyond the hearing range of their major predator, the great-horned owl. As a result, the grouse does not betray its location to the owl and risk attack.
Birds have no monopoly on the wonderful sounds of the boreal wilderness. Among the deer family, the elk are most vocal especially during the late summer. The bulls or stags can be heard up to two kilometres away on clear, late-summer nights. Their powerful call resonates through their deep chests announcing a challenge to other bulls. It begins as a low-pitched bellow and glides upward reaching a distinct high-pitched whistle held until the bull runs out of breath. A series of short grunts follows.
While this call is a challenge, the elk also "sound off" often without being intimidating or aggressive. Female elk are generally quiet and when they do call, their bugle is not as loud as the bulls.
A wolf howl is long and deep, chilling but beautiful. The highly social nature of wolves accounts for the importance of vocal communication in this animal. Howls are multi-purpose signals, helping co-ordinate the movements of the pack day-to-day and season-to-season. Each wolf has a distinct voice and other wolves are able to distinguish the differences. Individual howls designate territorial boundaries. Wolves also have "ceremonial" or "celebration" pack howls.
The common loon has a call that resembles a wolf's wail and wolves sometimes howl in response to the cry of the loons. This great northern diver has several basic calls, including a "laugh," "yodel" and "coo." The voice of the loon has been described as everything from horrible and eerie to lonely and beautiful. Who can help but be moved by the loon's cry in the midnight darkness when the lake has quieted to a glassy smoothness?
Perk up your ears and give yourself a chance to really hear what trembling leaves, scolding squirrels, and the bubble and gurgle of a life-giving stream really sound like. "And the poet said, 'Listen and write it all down.' But the pencil and paper just can't make the sound."
To find out more about the sights and sounds in Prince Albert National Park please call 1-888-773-8888 or visit us online at www.parkscanada.gc.ca.
