Spring Peepers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Springpeepers.ogg
To hear a Spring Peeper, click on the link, and look near the top of the page for a white triangle in a blue circle...this is the play button. Hit that to listen to a Spring Peeper chorus.
(Photo also from Wikipedia)

I just love Spring Peepers. As you can tell from the picture, they are frogs. They are tiny, about 3/4" to 1" long, and they have a black "X" on their backs. They make the cutest little peep sound, and when thousands of them are together during the early spring mating season, they make a beautiful chorus. When I used to live in Queens, NY, I would drive an hour or so out to Huntington just to listen to peepers. On Route 25 in Huntington, there is a diner, and next to it is a pond that's chock full of Spring Peepers in the springtime.

Now that I live upstate, I hear them everywhere. My husband and I drive around with the windows open, pulling over to listen to particularly vociferous peeper groups. Tonight I went to the local Stewart's store for milk, and next to the building is a wetland full of peepers. We had a pretty violent thunderstorm tonight. It was pouring, there was a tremendous amount of lightening, and among the sounds of thunder and rain was the sound of Spring Peepers, who were too busy attracting a mate to care about a silly old storm.