And about time, too! Please record your sighting, er listenings, and I'll add them to the FAQ for 2009.

Thanks,
Claire

Here is a link that might be useful: First Spring peeper report FAQ

Oh, and has anyone heard any wood frogs (quacking sounds)? These usually start a few days before the spring peepers.

Claire

Yippie-Skippie! If someone has heard the Peepers of spring...all is well! I will venture out tonight. The Cape is a few days behind the mainland. But, soon!

sooey

Just a few tentative peeps tonight, no chorus, but they're waking up out there in South Plymouth, MA!

I was thinking today that the arrival of peepers might be a good marker to start the spring cleanup, and that they should be singing soon. Sort of like "when the forsythia bloom" is a marker for other gardening operations.

I took a leap, or maybe a small hop, of faith and I started cleanup down by the road today. As it got dark I went out to listen and heard the ............... peep? ................................ peep? ............................... peep? (is anyone else awake?)..................... peep, peep? .............. from the old cranberry bog/pond down the hill.

Hope sings anew.

Tomorrow I'll go listening for wood frogs.

Claire

Claire,

We had tree frogs just today, but I haven't heard the peepers yet. So exciting!

Lisa

Heard my first peepers tonight on the way home with the window open in the car! Yahoo! 63 degrees in Swansea!

Almost to Twilight Zone levels tonight (there's a lot of marsh area around here). They tend to be extremely subdued on the cold nights, however.

Last night I heard the peepers here in Concord! Now they aren't close to my lot, which is flat, upland, and well-drained, but they were in a wetland about 1/4 mile away. I could hear them in the distance during the peace and quiet of a balmy early Spring night.

I LOVE the peepers and it made me think of the "Peeper Thread" right away!

Peepers galore Saturday night in Weymouth, loud and plentiful. Welcome Spring.

I heard them in Monroe, CT yesterday. I immediately thought of you, Sooey, lol!

:)
Dee

Yay! Finally heard on March 26 near S. Shore beach in Little Compton! Also heard: redwinged blackbirds with their conk-a-REE. And we have a pair of swans on the pond. Looks so romantic until their cygnets hatch and the snapping turtles eat them.

So far I have :

First spring peeper reports in New England:

2009
- March 5 on Martha's Vineyard, MA Zone7, reported by Vern Laux (MV Times), read by runktrun.
- March 18 in Marion, south coast of MA Zone 6, reported by drippy.
- March 26 in Little Compton, RI Zone 7, reported by carol6ma.
- March 27 in South Plymouth, south shore MA Zone 6b, reported by claire.
- March 27 in Swansea, MA Zone 6, reported by suecirish.
- March 27 in Concord, MA Zone 5b, reported by terrene.
- March 28 in Weymouth, MA Zone 6, reported by rich manure.
- March 28 in Monroe, CT Zone 6, reported by diggerdee.

Please let me know if this is incorrect or if you prefer to alter location, zone, whatever.

I think in times like this, i.e. spring, sooey regrets having moved from the coast of CT to Cape Cod, where peepers sleep very very late. Take heart sooey, the herring will run soon, hummers will hum, and summer will be wonderful.

Claire

OK, Kids...it is now SPRING!!! I just got home from a long but, rewarding *Peeper hunt*. I am happy to report that we now have Peepers on Cape Cod! I drove through much of Orleans but heard nothing until I got down to Skaket Beach. That seems to be the prime location for the first Peepers in our area. I heard many of them, singing their little hearts out. IT'S SPRING! AAhhhhh...it feels good.

Thanks for thinking of me, Kids. As much as I love living on the Cape, I miss CT at this time of year. Nothing like sitting on my deck in Clinton, listening to night sounds, hearing the songs of spring.

sooey
who startes looking for Herring to count on April 2.

Well, I heard my first peepers two nights ago here in Northampton, MA. And by first, I mean first! This is my first year living here, first winter (wow!), first spring (can't wait!) and my first experience of peepers. :-)

I FINALLY heard them! Guess I haven't been in the right place at the right time until this evening, leaving work.

Yippee! The daffodils can't be far behind.

To date:

First spring peeper reports in New England:

2009
- March 5 on Martha's Vineyard, MA Zone7, reported by Vern Laux (MV Times), read by runktrun.
- March 18 in Marion, south coast of MA Zone 6, reported by drippy.
- March 26 in Little Compton, RI Zone 7, reported by carol6ma.
- March 27 in South Plymouth, south shore MA Zone 6b, reported by claire.
- March 27 in Swansea, MA Zone 6, reported by suecirish.
- March 27 in Concord, MA Zone 5b, reported by terrene.
- March 27 in Northampton, MA Zone 5, reported by amysrq.
- March 28 in Weymouth, MA Zone 6, reported by rich manure.
- March 28 in Monroe, CT Zone 6, reported by diggerdee.
- March 29 in Orleans on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by sooey.
- March 31 in Falmouth on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by diggingthedirt.

Claire

Thought I'd check in, just heard my first peepers last week, making quite a ruckus when I first noticed them, so I would say I missed hearing about 2 days' worth of peepers. My start date is a conservatative April 1.

Entered, veilchen, thanks.

I just ran into two sound files inthe Cape Cod Times online site:

peepers call

peepers chorus

Claire

Here in central NH Along the Merrimack River, they are just starting. I literally heard one last Thursday when it was so warm, and then last evening there were a few, but not the full chorus yet. The wood frogs, however, started full force last weekend, so I knew the peepers wouldn't be far behind. It's been pretty cool here still, with some snow piles remaining despite the rain, but once we have one warm day, I know the frogs will be loud enough that I don't need to open my windows to hear them.

oh, thank you so much for posting the Peeper sounds - I have been wondering what I have been missing!
I have some marsh behind the house, and there Must be some cool wildlife back there (other than bucket tipping raccoons!).
The peepers sound just like birds! Could I have been mistaken them for birds all along?
Is there any way to 'lure' them into my yard (if they are really out there) or is there any evidence that I can look for?
Thanks!

Buxton, Maine tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is there any way to 'lure' them into my yard (if they are really out there) or is there any evidence that I can look for?

No, they are where they need to be (in a pond or swamp) to find their "true love" which is what all the singing is about. The only way to gain a peek would be to put on waders and head out into the swamp.

No sound from them yet here in Vermont, but I expect it won't be long.

evaf555: The Garden Web zone finder has Buxton, ME in zone 6 - do you agree?

Claire

I got an email reporting peepers in Hillsboro, NH, which Google says is zone 4!

to date:

First spring peeper reports in New England:

2009
- March 5 on Martha's Vineyard, MA Zone7, reported by Vern Laux (MV Times), read by runktrun.
- March 18 in Marion, south coast of MA Zone 6, reported by drippy.
- March 26 in Little Compton, RI Zone 7, reported by carol6ma.
- March 27 in South Plymouth, south shore MA Zone 6b, reported by claire.
- March 27 in Swansea, MA Zone 6, reported by suecirish.
- March 27 in Concord, MA Zone 5b, reported by terrene.
- March 27 in Northampton, MA Zone 5, reported by amysrq.
- March 28 in Weymouth, MA Zone 6, reported by rich manure.
- March 28 in Monroe, CT Zone 6, reported by diggerdee.
- March 29 in Orleans on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by sooey.
- March 31 in Falmouth on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by diggingthedirt.
- April 1 in southern Maine Zone 5b, reported by veilchen.
- April 2 in central NH along the Merrimack River Zone 4b-5a, reported by nhbabs.
- April 7 in Buxton, ME Zone 6, reported by evaf555.
- April 10 in Hillsboro, NH Zone 4, reported by sagesmoke.

Claire

Darn, I didn't keep track of when I first heard them. It was earlier this week. I'm in Webster NH, NW of Concord. I wouldn't think Hillsboro would be zone 4. Our house is next to a marshy meadow so we have lots and lots of peepers. My daffodils are budded but the only one's I've seen blooming in town were on a south facing slope.

Wow...look at that! They are making great progress! Nice to see Hillsboro noted on the list. We lived in Hillsboro Lower Village for a while back in the early '72, right on Franklin Pierce lake. Wonderful location.

Today as I came back into the garage from a short trip to the store, I heard Peepers, in the woods, very close. Only a few but, Peepers just the same.

sooey

Revised:

- April 10 in Hillsboro, NH Zone 4?, reported by sagesmoke.
- April 10, more or less, in Webster NH, NW of Concord Zone 5, reported by defrost49.

sooey: Is that a new sighting/hearing for you? Do you want it listed somehow?

Claire

I found another reference, a map of New Hampshire Hardiness Zones

This seems to show Hillsborough (sic) as zone 5b.

I didn't go deeply into it, but it looked like Hillsborough and Hillsboro are the same. Or Hillsboro is in Hillsborough County. Does any NH resident know?

Claire

Thats a good site, gardentimeonline.com. I also found a map of Massachusetts Hardiness Zones. There's lots more info there.

Claire

Hi Claire,

Thanks for asking about my second 'sighting' but no, I think the Orleans location is close enough, a second is not necessary. I'm just so happy to hear them close by. In CT., we could hear them with all the wondows closed. It was wonderful.

It's very, very interesting to see the map of the Hardiness Zone. I don't think I've ever studied it before. On the MA map, I would have thought that the coldest part of the state would be on the western side, not the east. And who ever would have thought that there would be so much variation of temps in NH? I love maps.

sooey

sooey: I think you did the same thing I did, i.e. misinterpret the pinkish colors. I couldn't understand why the counties just outside Boston were zone 4b. After staring at it for a while, I realized that those counties are a more salmon-pink, and are zone 6a. Zone 4 is a more bluish pink. So the western part of the state is indeed colder.

I love maps too, as you could probably guess by the number of maps I link to.

Claire

I think the colder zones are in the mountains for the most part. And the warmer coastal areas are moderated by the ocean (in those states that have a coastline.)

You are exactly right, Claire! I was seeing the wrong color. Hummm...why would they have two pinks of any shade on the same map? Plus, I'm sure it does not help that my monitor is on it's way out and the color is no longer true on anything. But, thanks for the correction, the western part of the state is indeed colder than the east. So, the coldest part of the state/map is that little circle that falls in both Hampden & Berkshire Co? Such a little pocket.

Thanks, Claire.

sooey

----So, the coldest part of the state/map is that little circle that falls in both Hampden & Berkshire Co? Such a little pocket. ------

Probably the highest peaks in the Berkshire Mtns.

Highest peaks of the most shelterd, high valley? Interesting how we have such a small pocket of the coldest temps. I'm right on that?... That little blog of pink that would extend down into CT is the salmon pink? Interesting...

sooey

These maps would be a lot easier to read if they had used colours more dissimilar than the pink and salmon pink. Just using a very dark shade and a pastel shade of the same colour would have helped a lot. Or a different colour altogether, like this:

Much Better, Claire! So simple.

sooey

I'm not Claire, but ok. ;-)

Excellent, spedigrees! and if you put them together, like a jigsaw puzzle, it begins to make sense ....

Claire

We're getting really off topic, sorry, drippy, but look at the range of zones in Alaska! Zone 1 (one!!!) to zone 7a. At least they labeled the zones so the similar colors don't matter.

Claire

Peeper have been going for a couple of days up here in Alton Bay, NH - near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. We are at 1000' elevation on the mountain, so probably a little behind the rest of town. We just noticed them last night, 4/14 .

Ooops.... got pulled back on-topic.

First spring peeper reports in New England:

2009
- March 5 on Martha's Vineyard, MA Zone7, reported by Vern Laux (MV Times), read by runktrun.
- March 18 in Marion, south coast of MA Zone 6, reported by drippy.
- March 26 in Little Compton, RI Zone 7, reported by carol6ma.
- March 27 in South Plymouth, south shore MA Zone 6b, reported by claire.
- March 27 in Swansea, MA Zone 6, reported by suecirish.
- March 27 in Concord, MA Zone 5b, reported by terrene.
- March 27 in Northampton, MA Zone 5, reported by amysrq.
- March 28 in Weymouth, MA Zone 6, reported by rich manure.
- March 28 in Monroe, CT Zone 6, reported by diggerdee.
- March 29 in Orleans on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by sooey.
- March 31 in Falmouth on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by diggingthedirt.
- April 1 in southern Maine Zone 5b, reported by veilchen.
- April 2 in central NH along the Merrimack River Zone 4b-5a, reported by nhbabs.
- April 7 in Buxton, ME Zone 6, reported by evaf555.
- April 10 in Hillsboro, NH Zone 4?, reported by sagesmoke.
- April 10, more or less, in Webster NH, NW of Concord Zone 5, reported by defrost49.
- April 14 in Alton Bay, NH - near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee Zone 4, reported by pamcleod.

Claire

Peepers began singing here yesterday,April 16.
Zone 4,Orford,NH

(I love those garden zone maps!)

First spring peeper reports in New England:

2009
- March 5 on Martha's Vineyard, MA Zone7, reported by Vern Laux (MV Times), read by runktrun.
- March 18 in Marion, south coast of MA Zone 6, reported by drippy.
- March 26 in Little Compton, RI Zone 7, reported by carol6ma.
- March 27 in South Plymouth, south shore MA Zone 6b, reported by claire.
- March 27 in Swansea, MA Zone 6, reported by suecirish.
- March 27 in Concord, MA Zone 5b, reported by terrene.
- March 27 in Northampton, MA Zone 5, reported by amysrq.
- March 28 in Weymouth, MA Zone 6, reported by rich manure.
- March 28 in Monroe, CT Zone 6, reported by diggerdee.
- March 29 in Orleans on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by sooey.
- March 31 in Falmouth on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by diggingthedirt.
- April 1 in southern Maine Zone 5b, reported by veilchen.
- April 2 in central NH along the Merrimack River Zone 4b-5a, reported by nhbabs.
- April 7 in Buxton, ME Zone 6, reported by evaf555.
- April 10 in Hillsboro, NH Zone 4?, reported by sagesmoke.
- April 10, more or less, in Webster NH, NW of Concord Zone 5, reported by defrost49.
- April 14 in Alton Bay, NH - near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee Zone 4, reported by pamcleod.
- April 16 in Orford, NH Zone 4, reported by franeli.

and then there's Hawaii...

Claire

I finally heard them singing Monday night when I stepped out onto the front porch. Of course they may have begun their chorus before that, and I might have only happened to hear them the other night. Music to my ears in any case!

First spring peeper reports in New England:

2009
- March 5 on Martha's Vineyard, MA Zone7, reported by Vern Laux (MV Times), read by runktrun.
- March 18 in Marion, south coast of MA Zone 6, reported by drippy.
- March 26 in Little Compton, RI Zone 7, reported by carol6ma.
- March 27 in South Plymouth, south shore MA Zone 6b, reported by claire.
- March 27 in Swansea, MA Zone 6, reported by suecirish.
- March 27 in Concord, MA Zone 5b, reported by terrene.
- March 27 in Northampton, MA Zone 5, reported by amysrq.
- March 28 in Weymouth, MA Zone 6, reported by rich manure.
- March 28 in Monroe, CT Zone 6, reported by diggerdee.
- March 29 in Orleans on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by sooey.
- March 31 in Falmouth on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by diggingthedirt.
- April 1 in southern Maine Zone 5b, reported by veilchen.
- April 2 in central NH along the Merrimack River Zone 4b-5a, reported by nhbabs.
- April 7 in Buxton, ME Zone 6, reported by evaf555.
- April 10 in Hillsboro, NH Zone 4?, reported by sagesmoke.
- April 10, more or less, in Webster NH, NW of Concord Zone 5, reported by defrost49.
- April 14 in Alton Bay, NH - near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee Zone 4, reported by pamcleod.
- April 16 in Orford, NH Zone 4, reported by franeli.
- April 20 in VT Zone 4, reported by spedigrees.

Claire

I heard them! For my very First Time!! How kewl is dat?
I'm sure they have already been singing - but I was so excited to experience what you all have been talking bout!

ohsillyme: Do you want to report when and roughly where? If yes, I'll enter it; if not, then congratulations for the experience!

Claire (who still thinks peepers are kewl)

oh sure Claire!!
I was in Saugus on April 24th when I heard them! I figured they had already been here for some time, I just hadnt been in the right place at the right time.

First spring peeper reports in New England:

2009

- March 5 on Martha's Vineyard, MA Zone7, reported by Vern Laux (MV Times), read by runktrun.
- March 18 in Marion, south coast of MA Zone 6, reported by drippy.
- March 26 in Little Compton, RI Zone 7, reported by carol6ma.
- March 27 in South Plymouth, south shore MA Zone 6b, reported by claire.
- March 27 in Swansea, MA Zone 6, reported by suecirish.
- March 27 in Concord, MA Zone 5b, reported by terrene.
- March 27 in Northampton, MA Zone 5, reported by amysrq.
- March 28 in Weymouth, MA Zone 6, reported by rich manure.
- March 28 in Monroe, CT Zone 6, reported by diggerdee.
- March 29 in Orleans on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by sooey.
- March 31 in Falmouth on Cape Cod, MA Zone 7, reported by diggingthedirt.
- April 1 in southern Maine Zone 5b, reported by veilchen.
- April 2 in central NH along the Merrimack River Zone 4b-5a, reported by nhbabs.
- April 7 in Buxton, ME Zone 6, reported by evaf555.
- April 10 in Hillsboro, NH Zone 4?, reported by sagesmoke.
- April 10, more or less, in Webster NH, NW of Concord Zone 5, reported by defrost49.
- April 14 in Alton Bay, NH - near the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee Zone 4, reported by pamcleod.
- April 16 in Orford, NH Zone 4, reported by franeli.
- April 20 in VT Zone 4, reported by spedigrees.
- April 24 in Saugus, MA Zone 6 (maybe earlier) reported by ohsillyme.

Claire