Click Here to Hear What Spring Peepers Sound Like!

Spring Has Sprung!! Woohoo! So excited!
With the arrival of the robins a few weeks ago already, it hasn’t really seemed like spring until this morning! The Peep Toads have come out of hibernation and are alive and singing their praises! This time of year just makes me so happy. I am very seasonal and enjoy each one, for sure, but spring is my favorite. I love April because we can begin to open the windows and let in some fresh air! Out in the gardens and forests, nature is waking up and buds are forming on the trees and shrubs, animals are coming out of their burrows and sprouts are emerging from the ground. Such an amazing time of year after being buried in layers of snow and ice all winter long. I am absolutely thrilled with the coming of spring!

So, about the peep toads (taken largely from National Geographic):
The males sing to attract a mate for the sole purpose of laying eggs!

Spring peepers are to the amphibian world what American robins are to the bird world. As their name implies, they begin emitting their familiar sleigh-bell-like chorus right around the beginning of spring.

Found in wooded areas and grassy lowlands near ponds and swamps in the central and eastern parts of Canada and the United States, these tiny, well-camouflaged amphibians are rarely seen. But the mid-March crescendo of nighttime whistles from amorous males is for many a sign that winter is over.

Spring peepers are tan or brown in color with dark lines that form a telltale X on their backs. They grow to about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) in length, and have large toe pads for climbing, although they are more at home amid the loose debris of the forest floor.

They are nocturnal creatures, hiding from their many predators during the day and emerging at night to feed on such delicacies as beetles, ants, flies, and spiders.

They mate and lay their eggs in water and spend the rest of the year in the forest. In the winter, they hibernate under logs or behind loose bark on trees, waiting for the spring thaw and their chance to sing.

Happy Spring, y’all!