April 12

The early morning temperatures were in the upper 40s, and when I opened the side door to listen, seemingly hundreds of spring peepers and wood frogs were in chorus with the dawn birdsong.

I suspect that the vernal pool is teeming with frogs and salamanders now, laying egg masses and calling to mates in what is an assured calendar mark of April.

The Hyla spring peeper has been occasionally sounding for the past several days, as has been the duck-like call of the wood frog. It is as if the early arrivers had been coming to practice in preparation for the main chorus, waiting for a warm night of spring to signal that the calling season has begun.

The tree frog is a tiny little thing, not much bigger than your thumb nail, yet strident enough that its “peep peep” can easily be heard above the forest din. These Hylas are more secretive, and despite their numbers we rarely spot one upon chance. The wood frogs do come to visit in the summer, and we usually see them among the flower gardens, jumping quickly away if startled, their masked face reminiscent of an old-fashioned burglar that has been caught off guard.

And so in all our usual locations, the sounds of peepers and other frogs will welcome us in the pre-dawn and again in the evening hours.