I came across this male Spring Peeper calling when doing a survey in Hinckley, OH. He became accustomed to my light after a couple of minutes of me rooting around and I didn’t even see him until he began calling. The very first stuttered trill is an encounter call. Spring Peepers use this call when another male is in close proximity to their territory. A wrestling bout may take place if the other frog doesn’t move to another perch, though they tend to be more tolerant of another frogs presence when a full blown chorus is underway. Although they are simple creatures, frogs have a way of communicating with each other through visual cues and voice. The advertisement call follows the encounter call, and it is quite a piercing and explosive sound. They fill their lungs up with air, and run it back and forth through the vocal chords, and into the air sack located under their chin. Very powerful abdominal muscle contractions and elastic skin composing the air sack make this movement possible. One has to keep in mind that they have just emerged from hibernation a short time ago and are expending an enormous amount energy attracting a mate. The females arrive at the vernal pools soon after the males begin calling. Check out a Metropark migration route on a rainy spring evening, and the shear number of these creatures migrating is astounding.

Spring peepers have a very drawn out season and can be heard calling well into the late spring.  Just try and find one when they breeding season is finished! Included in their repertoire is a unique call given through the late summer during high humidity or when a storm is approaching called a rain call. It is a bit raspier then the broadcast call and is easy to confuse as a bird song. Below is Spring Peeper rain call from Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Brecksville Station. This was recorded September 6th, 2014 during a 70 degree morning around 9am. One can hear a passing shower just after they start the rain call! Early spring in Northern Ohio has wildly fluctuating temperatures. We can have early 70s one day followed by 3-4 inches of lake effect snow the next. All of the early spring frogs have a tolerance to freezing through a chemical released by the liver at the onset of freezing temps. Wood frogs, Western Chorus, Spring Peepers and even Grey Treefrogs have this ability. Try to get out to the park system on a spring evening and experience this seasonal gift of sound!

This Spring Peeper was found at Breckville Station in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. These small tree frogs make the very big PEEP sound, and are among the first 3 frogs that begin calling in the early spring.