Anja Murray: Grasshoppers and crickets add to the sounds of summer — here's what their noises mean

One of the most distinctive, and readily audible sounds of summer is the gentle repetitive pulsing of grasshoppers and crickets

Field grasshoppers are a species that prefer dry sunny places such as sand dunes and dry heath. Picture: iStock

Distinctive soundtracks of summer are playing out across the country, each field, farm, lake and bog alive with its own unique array of creatures and their calls. 

Swifts and swallows are still making plenty of noise as they whizz through the skies, while small songbirds chirp from thickets of hawthorn, hazel and willow throughout the day. Young long-eared owls can be heard calling out from the upper branches of tall trees each evening, pleading with their parents to bring them food. Their distinctive call sounds like a squeaky gate creaking and carries well across rough pasture and patchy woodland.