“Peepers” are a chorus of tiny frogs chirping for mates in early spring. Often in symphony with other frog species the mixed sounds are unique and wonderful. One of the first signs of spring in Maine.
I live Downeast of Heather on MDI. The peepers and the tree frogs present a symphony all night long and yesterdayI heard the first white throated sparrow in my yard. The daffis are happy swaying in the breeze and the forsythias an lilacs are filling the air with great beauty. The service berries are about to pop and the lobstermen are setting traps throughout th Bay. Spring has arrived and Life is good!
In New Hampshire I'd always go around to the south side of the house - the sunny side - and see if the crocuses had started pushing through the old snow. If they were, then I'd dash to the front and check on my lilies and tulips. Lilacs wouldn't be far behind. Alas, down here in Florida it's a different set of flora but never so charming and pretty as northern New England and its deep, rich soils.
Here in the Hudson Valley of the great state of New York as well. When my son was a toddler , we would walk down our Heritage Trail (state-sponsored walking and biking path built on abandoned railroad tracks) and stop to see how many peepers he could see at the edges of the swampy ponds. He was always delighted when he squatted down by them for a closer look and they would suddenly splash away.
Another sign of spring was spotting the gray heron standing sentinel over the biggest pond.
I'm also in Metrowest, and I've heard 'em a few times. I've heard other frogs in Beaver Brook Reservation. Fresh Pond is full of turtles, and I saw my first this year quite early--March 14th, and I've taken a slew of photographs of them. Mostly, if not all the invasive, but beautiful red eared sliders. I may have seen a few painted turtles... I've not seen any ribbon snakes, which have a place they come out of for the summer next to a swamp in Beaver Brook Park, where I've seen them probably three years out of the last 4-5.
And when in a big pond, they're really really loud. Our farm pond was almost a 1/4 mile away from the house but you would have sworn they were all in the same room. THE sign of spring.
Thank you for explaining that. For me, in Oregon, first sign of real spring is the arrival of the migratory rufus hummingbirds. Their "airshows" and unique chatter plus the trilliums of course... if you live rural. City folks won't know this here since they have the Ana hummingbird year round.
Hello, Neighbor! Here in Eugene (well, for me, southwest Eugene) we're close enough to protected wetlands and undeveloped hills to have the peepers. I will never forget the first time I was on rural graveyard patrol in the spring, and heard the bullfrog chorus out at Fern Ridge Lake. I had NEVER heard that!
I always think fondly as a (former) Michigan girl of my first Spring trip to Vermont (in law school) and how my hosts explained the peepers. I have been in love with peepers ever since.
Interesting to learn about the chirping frogs you have. We have symphonies occurring here in Central Oregon now too. This is new to me coming from Denver Colorado and is absolutely the delightful!
I have been in Maine since 1975 and now reside in coastal Washington County. If you haven't heard this cacophony before, especially if you are an urban dweller, it can be startling, fascinating, and hilarious all at once. Rather than post a link, there is a useful video recording titled "Remote Learning Southern Maine's Common Frog Calls" by Josh Delcourt that isolates calls of the different species. Just like birders learn to ID by calls, the same goes for frogs and toads. Come to Maine in the spring - whenever that is!
In Oregon as well. I had heard them for many years patrolling rural (and not-so-rural) Lane County; when we moved into our current house (gasp, 30 years ago) I heard them at home for the first time.
Common names for species are often regional. I have noticed that with wildflowers, the same common name for some very different plants. I find the sounds of nature delightful. Think of all the sounds of water; the musical tinkle of a small drop in a tiny stream, the eerie, echoey drip of a stalactite in a cave pool, the lap under a dock, the patter of rain, Niagara falls, rumbling, crashing surf, etc, etc, etc.
On another note, I still experience the sounds of spring, but it is becoming decidedly more silent.
Marian, i didn't know what peepers were either. There is one and now another has joined the chorus here in Salem, Oregon. And I am more than green with envy at a front row seat to hear Heather.
You and me both, Michele. Next time she's in Portland, I will pick you up and we'll go see her together! We'll draft KarenRN to go as well and have a LFAA group meet.
Here on Martha's Vineyard, MA, we call them pinkletinks. Mention hearing the first pinkletinks to people from anywhere else and they don't know WTH you're talking about. Luckily a local naturalist wrote a short column about them a few years ago: https://www.mvtimes.com/2019/05/08/what-is-a-pinkletink/.
Lol. I had to explain what peepers were to someone just the other day.
A definite sign of spring.
I don’t know what that means either. First I’ve heard the idea.
“Peepers” are a chorus of tiny frogs chirping for mates in early spring. Often in symphony with other frog species the mixed sounds are unique and wonderful. One of the first signs of spring in Maine.
I live Downeast of Heather on MDI. The peepers and the tree frogs present a symphony all night long and yesterdayI heard the first white throated sparrow in my yard. The daffis are happy swaying in the breeze and the forsythias an lilacs are filling the air with great beauty. The service berries are about to pop and the lobstermen are setting traps throughout th Bay. Spring has arrived and Life is good!
And anout damn time. Here in Unity, ME it was sub 20°F 2 nights last week and in the 30s several. Enough already. Time to get some plants in.
Here in NY the weather has been really strange - like yours! But no real, actual, winter this year.
Remember - no tomatoes in the ground until Memorial Day. Awful to wait but that's the safest way to plant them.
Rick, I miss the lilacs of my Kansas childhood. Here (near Houston). The only lilacs have no smell, just good looks.
Wish I could send you some - mine are just getting into bloom and they DO smell great.
Maggie, thanks for the thought.
In New Hampshire I'd always go around to the south side of the house - the sunny side - and see if the crocuses had started pushing through the old snow. If they were, then I'd dash to the front and check on my lilies and tulips. Lilacs wouldn't be far behind. Alas, down here in Florida it's a different set of flora but never so charming and pretty as northern New England and its deep, rich soils.
I'm in southern ME. We still have peepers, but it's been years since I've heard a whippoorwill. Do you still have them on MDI?
Here in the Hudson Valley of the great state of New York as well. When my son was a toddler , we would walk down our Heritage Trail (state-sponsored walking and biking path built on abandoned railroad tracks) and stop to see how many peepers he could see at the edges of the swampy ponds. He was always delighted when he squatted down by them for a closer look and they would suddenly splash away.
Another sign of spring was spotting the gray heron standing sentinel over the biggest pond.
Great memory.
In Metrowest, MA as well. Peepers started more than a month ago here and are still going!!
I'm also in Metrowest, and I've heard 'em a few times. I've heard other frogs in Beaver Brook Reservation. Fresh Pond is full of turtles, and I saw my first this year quite early--March 14th, and I've taken a slew of photographs of them. Mostly, if not all the invasive, but beautiful red eared sliders. I may have seen a few painted turtles... I've not seen any ribbon snakes, which have a place they come out of for the summer next to a swamp in Beaver Brook Park, where I've seen them probably three years out of the last 4-5.
And when in a big pond, they're really really loud. Our farm pond was almost a 1/4 mile away from the house but you would have sworn they were all in the same room. THE sign of spring.
Yeah, my "local" peepers inhabit a wetland that is about 1/2 mile from my house.
And of course in Rhode Island. Have been making a glorious racket for well a couple of weeks. Seems early to me. Always welcome.
We have them here in Georgia, too. ☺️
Actually, Berry, the frogs themselves are called spring peepers, which, calling together, sound like a chorus.
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Amphibians/Spring-Peeper
Thank you for explaining that. For me, in Oregon, first sign of real spring is the arrival of the migratory rufus hummingbirds. Their "airshows" and unique chatter plus the trilliums of course... if you live rural. City folks won't know this here since they have the Ana hummingbird year round.
Hello, Neighbor! Here in Eugene (well, for me, southwest Eugene) we're close enough to protected wetlands and undeveloped hills to have the peepers. I will never forget the first time I was on rural graveyard patrol in the spring, and heard the bullfrog chorus out at Fern Ridge Lake. I had NEVER heard that!
Frog symphonies (peepers plus) here in Vermont too.
I always think fondly as a (former) Michigan girl of my first Spring trip to Vermont (in law school) and how my hosts explained the peepers. I have been in love with peepers ever since.
Spring peepers are in upstate New York, too! They can be incredibly loud. We used to live near a wetland and it was quite a cacophony.
Interesting to learn about the chirping frogs you have. We have symphonies occurring here in Central Oregon now too. This is new to me coming from Denver Colorado and is absolutely the delightful!
I have been in Maine since 1975 and now reside in coastal Washington County. If you haven't heard this cacophony before, especially if you are an urban dweller, it can be startling, fascinating, and hilarious all at once. Rather than post a link, there is a useful video recording titled "Remote Learning Southern Maine's Common Frog Calls" by Josh Delcourt that isolates calls of the different species. Just like birders learn to ID by calls, the same goes for frogs and toads. Come to Maine in the spring - whenever that is!
In Oregon as well. I had heard them for many years patrolling rural (and not-so-rural) Lane County; when we moved into our current house (gasp, 30 years ago) I heard them at home for the first time.
Thank you
Sometimes the "peeping" is so loud as to be deafening. But it's a sound I grew up loving. As a kid it meant summer is coming soon - no more school!
Tree frogs.
For the record tree frogs are not Peepers. The peepers live in the Vernal ponds/etc. Here's the difference in sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTB01INM6rI. and tree frog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bzotS1ow0Q
According to this NWF site, Debra, spring peepers ARE tree frogs.
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Amphibians/Spring-Peeper
This one, too: https://www.britannica.com/animal/spring-peeper
There are different types of tree frogs; peepers are one type.
Wow! Thanks !!
Common names for species are often regional. I have noticed that with wildflowers, the same common name for some very different plants. I find the sounds of nature delightful. Think of all the sounds of water; the musical tinkle of a small drop in a tiny stream, the eerie, echoey drip of a stalactite in a cave pool, the lap under a dock, the patter of rain, Niagara falls, rumbling, crashing surf, etc, etc, etc.
On another note, I still experience the sounds of spring, but it is becoming decidedly more silent.
Marian, i didn't know what peepers were either. There is one and now another has joined the chorus here in Salem, Oregon. And I am more than green with envy at a front row seat to hear Heather.
You and me both, Michele. Next time she's in Portland, I will pick you up and we'll go see her together! We'll draft KarenRN to go as well and have a LFAA group meet.
Deal.
Yay!!
https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/species-information/reptiles-amphibians/spring-peeper.html
Thanks you’re
Suzanne. here(near Houston), it’s the battles of grackles and blue jays looking for mates. Much more raucous.
Suzanne, when you explained it did you wonder what else they have missed? The natural world is growing so small in so many.
Yes, I did. So many folks miss out on the natural wonders.
Here on Martha's Vineyard, MA, we call them pinkletinks. Mention hearing the first pinkletinks to people from anywhere else and they don't know WTH you're talking about. Luckily a local naturalist wrote a short column about them a few years ago: https://www.mvtimes.com/2019/05/08/what-is-a-pinkletink/.
I always love when the peepers are back! A real confirmation that Spring has arrived! About 3 weeks ago here in Southern Maryland
I guess not every area in the country has peepers. Love to hear them and yeah sure does mean spring.
I googled it—would never have guessed frogs; thought it was some kind of crocus.