Spring Peeper Sounds: A Guide to Their Calls

What do Spring Peepers Sound Like?

Spring peeper sounds are among the most common springtime noises. Their call is a high-pitched “peep, peep, peep” sound that is repeated over and over. While spring peepers are hard to find, their calls can be almost deafening at close range during the breeding season.

Spring peepers call in duets or triplets, with each frog calling after 40-70 milliseconds, and the cycle is repeated. This creates a chorus of peepers mostly calling in sets of twos or threes, but quartets and pentets have also been recorded.

Spring peeper sounds are one of about 30 tree frog calls in the United States, and one of about 100 frog and toad calls.

I have included here a recording I made of spring peepers in April:

You can also check out a video of a spring peeper calling below.

When Do Spring Peepers Call?

Spring peepers call to attract mates during breeding season, which typically begins in late winter to early spring depending on the location, rainfall, latitude, and elevation.

Spring peepers sounds are most often heard in the late afternoon and at night, usually between 4 pm and 10 pm, but sporadic calls may occur throughout the day depending on weather conditions. The first choruses are heard from 1 to 20 days after the first individual calls are heard.

Chorusing occurs at a rather constant level for several months until the end of the breeding season, when it tapers off with warmer weather. The optimum temperature for calling is 10–20°C.

Where Can I Hear Spring Peepers?

Spring peepers call near breeding ponds, wetlands, and wooded areas throughout their range. Late-season sounds or calls away from breeding ponds have been reported from various locations. You can see their range across the United States in the map below.