First peep: April 6!! This is the earliest date yet for the peepers in our back yard — what’s more, friends have been hearing them along the Fauxburg Rd and in the Valley for more than a week already. Today’s temperature reached +13° C and that came after a very wet few days — perfect conditions for frogs.
Previous peep dates:
2011 – April 12
2012 – April 12
2013 – April 20
2014 – April 15
2015 – May 2 (year of the massive snowfall)
We heard some wood frogs in the little cemetery pond in Mahone Bay on Saturday (April 3) and recorded their quacking sounds. I think we normally hear the peepers before the wood frogs, but everything seems to be in a hurry to get into spring mode this year. According to this article from Nova Scotia Museums, the earliest wood frog sighting in the province was March 22 in 1983. But I’m sure there have been earlier sightings since given the trend of warming winter temperatures.
We had a mild winter with just a few weekends of snow. Enough to get out on the skis a few times and do three or four snowshoe hikes in the woods, but that’s all. The winters seem to be getting rainier and windier. Now, we’re looking forward to seeing the forsythia and magnolia in bloom, as well as the daffodils (which are close!).
witches whiskers 