Can You Still Hear Crickets in New York City?

A beautiful day in Central Park, New York City.

Photo: amyp

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Remember Chester in The Cricket in Times Square?

George Selden was inspired to write his classic children’s story after hearing chirps in the subway. Crickets and katydids are a vital part of the urban and suburban ecosystems and used to be an abundant force in NYC.

Are these organisms still in the NYC area, and if so, where? You can help scientists from the USGS and other organizations find out by joining the first Cricket Crawl on Friday, September 11, between dusk and midnight.

All you have to do is step outside and simply record what you hear using your cell phone as a tape recorder. You might even discover species that haven't been seen in years!

For more information on how to get involved, check out discoverlife.org/cricket. There you can read about the different crickets and katydids and even practice listening to their different calls. The results from this audio survey will be presented on the Web in real time.

-USGS

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