Ocean View Foundation Mission: To contribute environmental education and cultural history programs about Block Island to the community and its visitors.

Northern Spring Peeper (Pseudacris c. crucifer)

The Spring Peeper is one of three species of amphibians found on Block Island.

Northern Spring Peepers range throughout eastern and central North America; including southern portions of Canada, from Manitoba to Newfoundland, and extending as far south as northern Georgia and eastern Texas.

Spring Peepers are rarely seen, but starting in mid-March are often heard, and are considered by many to be the first sign of spring. Only males, often in choral groups, emit the loud peeping call, which establishes a territory and attracts females. On warm spring evenings, the concentrations of calling males around ponds and wetlands can rise to a loud din. Whereas vocalizing males in late summer and early autumn (after the breeding season) can be heard as individuals or small groups.

To hear Spring Peepers, take an evening walk anywhere near Block Island's many ponds and wetlands from mid-March to late summer, or just click here.

Spring Peepers:

	are about 1 inch in length.
	have webbed hind feet and toe pads on their front feet.
	show great variation in color; they may be observed as dull olive-grey, tan, brown, yellowish-gold, or even pinkish.
	have an X mark on their back, which is often incomplete. This X mark is the origin of the species name crucifer, meaning “one who bears a cross”.

Spring Peepers, once grouped with Tree frogs because of their toe pads and superior vertical climbing abilities, are now considered to be more closely related to Chorus frogs. This change in taxonomy, which matches their powerful vocal attributes, has been confirmed by DNA analysis.

Spring Peeper facts:

	Spring Peepers can live in a variety of habitats from vernal ponds to moist woodland leaf litter.
	Spring Peepers eat small invertebrates such as spiders, mites, sow bugs, insect larvae and worms.
	Spring Peepers hibernate in the winter, tucked in and under leaf litter, vegetation, and just below mud and soil surfaces and can be frozen for up to 2 weeks without detrimental effects.
	Spring Peepers lay their jelly-coated eggs singly under vegetation on pond bottoms. In less then one week, these eggs will hatch into tadpoles, and within 90 to 100 days will metamorphose into tailless adult frogs.

Although Spring Peepers are the most common frogs on Block Island and are thought to be the most abundant throughout southern New England, they are highly sensitive to water quality changes. Sudden decreases in the abundance or health of Spring Peepers may indicate negative changes to the environment. Spring Peepers have been shown to be negatively affected by acid rain.

To be a citizen scientist and help track important information about Spring Peepers and other amphibians go to:
http://www.nwf.org/frogwatchusa/index.cfm

To learn more about Spring Peepers, check out these resources that were used to prepare this page:

	A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, 2nd ed., 1975 by Roger Conant.
	http://www.uri.edu/cels/nrs/paton/LH_spring_peeper.html
	http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek041108.html

What's an ebbet?

The word "ebbett" has been used for many generations – for as long as anyone can remember – and is synonymous with Spring Peeper.

Ebbets Hollow on Block Island is the low land south of Mill Tail Swamp Pond and east of the Great Swamp; an area where on any given spring evening the chorus of Peepers can sound overwhelming.

However, it may be that ebbet has been inaccurately used. Few dictionaries include the word ebbet, and when it does appear it refers to the common Eastern Newt.

"ebbet: a common green newt (Triturus viridescens) of the eastern U. S." ~ Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1974.

So, is it a frog or a newt? On Block Island, ebbets are frogs: Spring Peepers that usually start peeping around the time of the spring equinox

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