The warm temperatures this past week brought the beautiful tree frog known as the Spring Peeper out of hibernation and into its annual mating ritual. Although a frog of the woods, they mate in any shallow water they can find. They are the first amphibians to emerge from hibernation each year, and have a unique feature that allows them to partially freeze and not die during this early season. You can hear the males “peeping” by the hundreds around any wet area from mid march thru Late April throughout Rockland County. This is to attract females for mating.  It is amazing that such a tiny creature can make a noise that can be heard up to two miles away just by puffing out their throat. Their suction cup tipped toes allow them to climb trees, walls, and glass as they hunt insects. They are almost never seen due to their natural camouflage coloring. 

You can try to seek a rare view of this interesting frog at night with a flashlight by zeroing in on the peeping noise. It’s not as easy as it sounds as the noise is very hard to localize, and if you get too close, they go silent. Try a little “peeper” stalking in the next two weeks and catch a glimpse of wild kingdom which is seen by very few.

Click here to catch a glimpse of the spring Nyack housing market.