A noise in the night

Craaaaac. What’s that crackle just outside the tent? hoo hoo hoo hoo ! And that’s a ghost? kkkkkkkkkk ! A witch chattering her teeth? There are often strange noises at night when camping. Even the bravest sometimes want to disappear into the depths of their sleeping bag.

Mary Tison
The Press

“Humans, we are afraid of what we don’t see, of what we don’t know,” says Daniel Joncas, park warden-naturalist at Yamaska ​​National Park. At night, while camping, everything becomes more impressive. We are far from home. You feel more vulnerable in a tent, it’s just a small canvas. »

And as in the national parks, we try to reduce the noise as much as possible, “the smallest matter, we will hear it”.

He tells how sometimes campers call the park wardens because they think they hear a bear outside the tent. “Well no, it’s a raccoon. It’s smaller, it’s cuter. »

A very small mammal that moves around, that rummages around, it can make a lot of noise. Especially in the fall, with all those leaves covering the ground. And then there are those cracks…

In the fall, we will hear the eagle owl or the barred owl. The latter is well recognizable with its hoo hoo hoo hoo very sound.

Mammals that are normally quiet will be a little louder, such as raccoons.

“Food is starting to become scarce, they will tend to move away a little more from their territory, explains Mr. Joncas. There will be encounters with other raccoons, there will be arguments between them, they will try to impress each other. We then hear a kkkkkkk which seems to go on forever.

An educational night hike

For the past twenty years, Parc national de la Yamaska ​​has offered a guided hike entitled “Sounds and animals of the night”, which remains just as popular. “I try to arrive about fifteen minutes before the activity and people take the opportunity to make me listen to their recording or to do an imitation. I try to identify the sound if possible. »

The night hike itself gives rise to all sorts of discoveries. Participants move from one ecosystem to another: the forest, the edge of a river, etc.

Birds are particularly active in the spring, especially around sunrise and sunset. “We are going to hear a lot of songs. »

In May and June, the anurans will be especially noisy: frogs, tree frogs, toads, bullfrogs. In June, singing insects will be more present, such as crickets, locusts and grasshoppers.

“Birds emit sounds to attract females, to mark their territory, to communicate with each other,” says Daniel Joncas. Insects are somewhat the same principle. But the mammals, it is not so much with the sounds that they will try to find their bearings. Yes, they will growl after, but they don’t make great melodies. »

More awesome sounds

Of course, during the breeding season, some will be louder, such as moose and white-tailed deer.

And then there are wolves and coyotes. “Wolves can form quite large packs. When they decide to vocalize, we will hear them. »

The coyote is more solitary. “It howls less well than the wolf, it’s less impressive. Often, he will start yelping afterwards. »

It can still be a little worrying when you’re lying in a small tent of nothing. “It adds a bit of mystery around the campsite,” concludes Mr. Joncas.