One 60 Degree Day Brought Out the First Spring Peepers of 2025

It was one of the first beautiful days of 2025 yesterday in Litchfield County, the temps got above 60 degrees, and right on cue the first "FWEEEET" of a Spring Peeper caught my ear.

It was 42 degrees on the way in this morning, just warm enough to crack my window, and the only sound in Connecticut at 4AM was the high-pitched mating call of lonely male spring peeper frogs. Unlike their human counterparts, female Spring peepers choose their mate based on the volume and frequency of the chirps, and competition could lead to insanity for those who live near water.

It amazes me that year after year, St. Patrick's Day is one of the first warmer days of the year that Connecticut experiences. The first daffodils and crocus buds have come up from the ground even as the last mountains of plowed snow still tower in our parking lots. Today is Match 20, 2025, and the first frogs of the year have hatched in our ponds, creeks, and lakes.

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Spring peepers are either brown or green in color, grow to an inch and a half in length, and weight as much as 5 or 6 paperclips (Grams, sorry). They live primarily in forests with woodlands and wetlands, and capable of surviving temperatures as low as 17 degrees. Spring peepers are most active during the nighttime, male peepers produce their signature mating call by blowing up a sac in their throat and exhaling "Hey, I'm available" in frog. A male peeper can emit up to 13,500 peeps a night, which can be brutal when there are over 200 of them in your swamp.