Habitat: The Spring Peeper is a frog of the woodlands that is especially abundant in brushy second growth or cutover woodlots that are near small, temporary or semi- permanent ponds or swamps. 

 

Voice: Often heard but seldom seen, the call of the Spring Peeper is a high-pitched piping note that is repeated at intervals of about one second.  The sound of a large chorus of peepers when heard at close range can be almost deafening. When heard from a distance it has been likened to the sound of sleigh bells.

 

Food: An insectivore, the peepers diet consists of a wide variety of invertebrates found in the leaf-litter on the ground and in the shrubby bushes it inhabits.

Reproduction: Mostly nocturnal. Active from March through October peepers gather at the breeding ponds in early spring to mate and lay their eggs. Locally the breeding season extends from March through May. Breeding at a pond usually lasts for about a month and usually peaks over a two-week period. The males defend small territories in the emergent vegetation of the pond and call to attract females. Males trespassing on another male’s territory will trigger an aggressive trilling sound that is quite different from the usual single note mating call. After choosing a male the female enters the water with her partner and lays up to 900 eggs where upon the male deposits sperm on them for fertilization. Eggs hatch within a week and metamorphosis from a tadpole to a froglet takes from 2 to 3 months at which time they leave the pond.

 

Hibernation: Spring Peepers spend the winter months buried in shallow soil that is usually covered with snow and ice. When they freeze, their heart stops beating and respiration ceases. To avoid damage by ice crystals forming in their bodies, glycogen in their livers is converted to large amounts of glucose, which acts as a natural antifreeze protecting their internal organs.