Frog Song Day

This was published in the March 10, 2022 edition of The Fish Wrap.

This is our third annual column about our favorite holiday, Frog Song Day. This is the day that the Peepers sleeping in the ground wake up and start singing. Last year, they started singing on February 28. On March 1 this year, we got home around 4PM and when we got out of the car, we could hear them! How do they know when it’s time to wake up and sing?

Many of the organisms that live in the soil go dormant for periods of time until conditions are more favorable. Peepers are one of the larger creatures in dormancy during winter. It’s a mystery how creatures ‘know’ that it’s time to wake up. The Peepers awaken when several things come together: day length, lack of frost in the soil, air temperature, exudates from plants in the soil coming to life and possibly other forms of communication passed through the mycelium network. Soil electroconductivity also plays a role. 

This vocal performance is a mating call for the paperclip sized frogs. The males sing near puddles of water and if females like the song, they will lay eggs in the puddle. The females prefer louder and faster chirps so the choruses just get more spirited over time! Peepers are nocturnal, feed on small invertebrates and live for three years. In winter dormancy, up to 70% of their bodies freeze and their hearts stop. I would sing for joy too if I woke up from that!

If you look closely, you can see that the grass is just starting to green up. We’ve started seeing robins join the cardinals and blue jays. We are preparing garden beds for planting and Jarrod’s mushroom bag is ready for when he hears their call. The frogs are singing their song of Spring!