NEWS JOURNAL (Wilmington, Delaware) 26 March 06 Spring peepers (Margo McDonough)
Flowering bulbs and water ice for sale are two signs that spring has arrived. But to some, spring isn't really here until they've heard the spring peepers.
If you're not sure what peepers sound like, think Christmas in March: A chorus of calls that sound like sleigh bells. This isn't a little jingle jingle; it's more like sleigh bells in Dolby digital surround.
"The spring peepers' call can be deafening," says Jake Bowman, UD assistant professor of entomology and wildlife ecology. "The sound is distinctive; once you've heard it, you won't mistake it for the call of another frog. Each call alone is a high-pitched whistle, but together they really do sound like jingling bells."
There are 16 species of frogs and toads in Delaware, but it's the peepers and other chorus frogs that people tend to get excited about, because their calls are one of the first signs of spring.
Here in Delaware, spring peepers start making those sleigh-bell sounds as early as mid-February, Bowman says. The sounds arrive later in other areas -- in Connecticut, for example, they may not begin until mid-March. Although peepers continue to call through the summer, the peak time to listen to their chorus is about a month after they make their first call. (We're at prime listening time right now.)
Peepers are nocturnal and take up their chorus after dusk. But the peepers' call has a larger purpose than serenading us to sleep. (Some people say the sound is soothing, though others find it downright irritating.) Bowman says the frog's clear trill is a mating call the males use to woo females.
Although many assume peepers live in creeks, Bowman says they congregate at vernal pools, seasonal wetlands that dry up in the heat of summer. Peepers prefer still water and take up residence in a stream only if it has been dammed or otherwise backed up.
Peepers are the Greta Garbos of the amphibian community. If you want to see them, pack a flashlight and plenty of patience. Bowman says you'll hear hundreds of them before you spot a single one.
"You can practically be on top of them and still not see them," says Bowman. An adult peeper is just a little over one-inch long, and their brown, gray or green colors don't stand out, especially at night. Bowman says the best way to find them is to be on the lookout for the males' distended vocal sacs, which swell dramatically as they get ready to peep.
Bowman has been hearing the peepers a lot during the past two weeks. It sounds like spring has arrived in our neck of the woods.
Spring peepers