#spring peeper

[ahedderick]

Spring according to the signs

Yesterday I saw the first butterfly - well, either it was four mourning cloak butterflies or just one really nosy one who kept following me around the yard. Today the first daffodil bloomed in a sheltered spot near the house, and we heard the first spring peepers at dusk. All those things are about two weeks early.

[fresh-frogs]

Peepers galore!

[vintagewildlife]

Spring peepers in amplexus By: Robert S. Simmons From: Living Amphibians of the World 1966

[herpsandbirds]

Hi! I was wondering what type of little fellow I saw last night. Wisconsin, US.

Frog ID - WI, USA:

Hello, yes, this frog friend looks like a Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer), family Hylidae.

Spring peeper - Wikipedia

[life-on-our-planet]

Although spring peepers are rarely more than 1.5in long, they make some of the loudest sounds in the forest relative to their size! ©

[markscherz]

spring peeper be upon ye

And upon ye, @pugswithlasers

[chunkula3]

It’s peepin’ time

[chameleonsynthesis]

"I'm just going to do quick doodles for these," I said. "Some fast pencil scribbles."

*proceeds to spend an hour drawing a single frog.*

Clearly I am full of lies. It is 99% pencil tool though. Using the ink pen brush to do the eyes so they have crisp edges.

Amphibiuary Day 4: Sing. One of my favourite frogs, the spring peeper, Pseudacris crucifer.

My childhood home was very close to a large wetland area. You knew springtime was truly here when the peepers would start living up to their name. The volume level of their booty calls is not commensurate with their tiny size at all. Some ponds in the woods could be almost painful to stand near with how loud it would get.

Love these little dudes.

They sound like this:

[forestfeeling]

IT HAPPENED YALLL! First big night this year

[dancesoutdoors]

[froggirleyeball]

Spring Peeper

AKA Pseudacris crucifer

Spring peepers are a type of chorus frog native to eastern North America! Chorus frogs are named that because of the sound they make, a trill like the sound of locusts! For spring peepers in particular get their name because they make those sounds at the beginning of spring. Which, presumably, they can peep coming!

But that's not all that's interesting about spring peepers! They can also survive below-freezing temperatures, because their organs are prepared to go dormant until things warm up again. And when it gets warmer, they increase their chirping and mating!

Females choose males based on their chirping, and some males instead go for a "satellite" strategy where they hang out near males with good chirps to get with any females that approach them. Truly on that satellite male grindset!

Their scientific name crucifer means cross-bearer, because many have cross-like markings on their sides. Truly, peeping spring is a heavy cross to bear! Or to frog I guess.

[trilobyte01]

First spring peeper of the year for me!

[fresh-frogs]

Spring peeper ‼️🗣️

[creaturepost-emporium]

Spring peeper baby. Size of my pinkie fingernail.

[covrettcreative]

Peeper Popup

Seen near Dundee, Michigan.

[magenta-fantasies]

I’ve lived in New England for all of my life except when I was in college, and while I hear countless spring peepers every spring, I’ve only seen spring peepers a couple times in my life. Today was my first chance to photograph one! I spotted slight movement among the leaf litter while out walking at a local park. Shockingly, the spring peeper held still and let me photograph it!

To give a sense of scale, I’m 5’ 3” and have relatively small hands. This frog would fit inside a thimble!

I also spotted this much bigger wood frog not far down the path. It blended in so well with the leaf litter that when I adjusted my position, it took me several seconds to spot it again! In these two photos below, you can see why! (Yes, both photos have a frog in them.)

And as a bonus, I caught the spring peeper mid-jump!