When my husband went out to get the newspaper this morning around 6:30 he said he heard the frogs. What did he hear? He heard the sound of Spring Peepers who are awakened by this very warm winter weather. With highs in the 70s for the next few days the peepers will stay confused. With Lake Davidson less than a quarter mile from us the woods around our neighborhood make for great breeding grounds and hiding places for these small, secretive amphibians. You may have wondered what the sound is. It is described as sleigh-bell like. If you walk toward an area where you think you hear the sound it is likely that the sound will go away when you get too close.
Like many amphibians they lay their eggs in water but the adults live in the uplands around the water or wetland. For this reason we need to protect the wooded areas near our ponds, lakes and streams for without these areas the life cycle of the amphibian is interrupted.
Below are links to a couple of sites with more information about Spring Peepers and other amphibians.
http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/anurans/Psecru/Pse_cru.html
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/spring-peeper/