Rain + warmth = Pseudacris crucifer. The spring peeper.
Spring? Seriously? Appearing for one night only at a backyard pond in Tennessee. Tomorrow: the freeze returns.
They are calling at an ear-ringing 85+ decibels. These frogs are so loud that birds have to adjust their songs near chorusing peepers. So crank this one to 11:
Zoom in on the spectrogram (below) and we can see two call types: short upward sweeps and longer trilling sweeps. The short, untrilled sounds are the males calling to females; the zipped calls are aggressive signals to other males. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. You can clearly hear each call type on the recording, minus Armstrong’s horn.
Bonus: how many peppers can you spot in the photo below?
David George Haskell 
Wow! Seriously? I was impressed with my crocus, but peepers?
They woke up all of a sudden!!
Jeepers, creepers🎶 Please send some up my way (Ontario)
FedEx delivery on its way. We’ll be covered in ice by morning, so this is a brief burst.
Wonderful! I’m jealous. Not too much spring here in Helena, Montana. But I see the weatherman predicts 60 next week for 10 minutes.
Enjoy those 10 mins! Here we’re dropping from one day in the 60s, back to the 20s.
I’m seriously envious; the vernal pool downhill from our home (hill towns of western Massachusetts) is still under several feet of snow. Spring is delayed in New England!
We’ve been under snow and ice (not as much as you) until this week, then BAM!, the salamanders and frogs came out in the thaw, only to have to retreat again for the rest of the week. When spring finally comes, it will feel mighty good. Hang in there!
My brothers and I own a house near Albany, NY that has passed down through the family for generations and we have a wetlands/pond that every spring comes alive with the sound of peepers. My grandmother had a movable bird blind built which we used to put down by the water’s edge so that she could sit there and listen to the birds. My wife and i went down there once to listen to the peepers up close and the decibel level felt much higher than 85. We had to leave after a short stay. The leaves usually don’t come out until the end of April but the peepers are crocking away earlier signaling the arrival of spring. Such a wonderful sign of renewal.
What a wonderful spot.
We have just a dozen at most. Hundreds will definitely push the dBs well above 85. Ear-splitting.
I counted five, but I’m betting there are more. Temperatures will finally break into the forties here next week in north-central Wisconsin, and can the peepers be far behind? (Though in our own ponds the Eastern Chorus Frogs usually beat them by a day or two.)
Will they weather the cold ok? Some of us are worried about them.
We had peepers in North Georgia, Clarkesville, too, on Monday, Mar.2 too in a creek as we worked on invasive species removal. Nice music for sawing and digging.
Fabulous!
What happens to them when it freezes again, like tonight?
Theresa Shackelford
>
Uhh, Professor Haskell….I believe that would be peepers not peppers. :-)
Ah, yes! Singing peppers have yet to emerge.
For years I ran at night in central GA, and I noticed that every year in late Feb the peepers and their relations would start singing to the top of their lungs, regardless of the weather. They seems to be nonplussed even by very cold temps once the courting starts. It has always amazed me that they could tolerate such low temps.
Like wood frogs, peepers are incredibly hardy. Impressive.
Prof. Hasklell – In small shallow pond in our woods-yard at 3000 feet,Tate Mountain, North Pickens County Ga., in January thaw we get Wood Frogs, Rana sylvatica, croaking somewhat like Cranes.They beat the regular spring peepers which come later and down near lake and springs,200 vertical and 1,500 linear feet below. John Kiser, Uncle of Miriam Keener, Sequatchie Cove Farm.
This is very interesting. Here, wood frogs are found in only a few scattered pools in the woods. I seldom hear them, but they do come out early. Thank you for this observation!
Good Morning 😊
I would love to open up a conversation about a little toad I’m temporarily housing.
It is missing most of his back legs but gets around slow and steady. I saw him last year in a common area right after spring began and miraculously I saw him again and his habitat is being torn down and they are going to use strong chemicals to get rid of poison ivy, poison oak and insects.
I picked him? up and took him home because I felt bad for him. I believe all other toads have evacuated.
I have him in a temporary set up at home and I’m hoping to find a more permanent place for him, maybe in a classroom. I did run him by a vet to look at him and the exam was in the lobby but the Vet said he looked healthy but can’t move fast enough to avoid predators.
I nearly killed him with my kind ignorance by filling his little shallow pool and drinking bowl with tap water as I did not know or think about chlorine. I use bottled purified water now and feed meal worms and he’s doing well but I worry about him possibly having depression, I know you are not a wildlife psychologist but I’m just hoping to learn as much as I can about toad and their lives to make his better. I actually do dog and cat rescue and not really into reptiles and amphibians but this guy entered my life or I entered his so I want to do the best for him. I’m fascinated by your audio content and I’m contemplating trying to figure out how to play it for him once in a while. And will hope it comforts instead of creating a longing of another life. Thank you for reading this and if you have anything to share I’d welcome the input. Sincerely, Linda Rogerslin