Marsh frog & tree frog choruses
Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus), Perez's/edible frogs, European tree frog (Hyla arborea), Mediterranean tree frog (H. meridionalis), natterjack. Camargue, Brenne, Marais poitevin, Landes, France.
Best time: 25 Apr – 10 Jun (April to June). Where: Marais du Vigueirat / Camargue ditches, Brenne ponds (Chérine area), Marais poitevin (Coulon) (France). Time of day: Marsh frogs call by day but the full chorus is from dusk to 02:00.
- You can go on your own
- Free
- No binoculars needed
- Sound 5/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
Peak: 25 Apr – 10 Jun. Late April to early June, warm nights
Active from 1 Apr to 15 Jul (April to July) in a typical year.
Time of day
Marsh frogs call by day but the full chorus is from dusk to 02:00; tree frogs and natterjacks start about an hour after sunset and peak between 23:00 and 01:00 on warm nights.
- Night chorus: 30 min after sunset → 02:00
What will you hear?
Wall-to-wall marsh frog laughter from the Camargue ditches, ratcheting tree frogs from Brenne ponds, and natterjacks rolling across the Landes dune slacks.
Binoculars?
No binoculars needed. Chorus from the ditch edge; a torch finds tree frogs, nothing else needed.
Where to go
- Marais du Vigueirat / Camargue ditches — Marsh frogs and Mediterranean tree frogs; rice-field pumps run at night in May. Map
- Brenne ponds (Chérine area) — European tree frog stronghold; roadside ponds are enough. Map
- Marais poitevin (Coulon) — Canal network — hire a flat boat at dusk for an in-the-chorus position. Map
- Landes dunes (Réserve d'Arjuzanx / Courant d'Huchet) — Natterjack toads in the dune slacks and old mine pools. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Roadside ditches and ponds: the Camargue D36/D37 verges, Brenne roadside ponds around Chérine, the Marais poitevin canal paths at Coulon (flat-boat hire optional), the Courant d'Huchet dune paths. All free; stay off private banks.
Cost: Free; Marais poitevin boat hire optional (check current prices).
Field-recording notes
SPLs at the ditch edge are high — back off 10–20 m for balance and pad if going close. Introduced marsh frogs now dominate much of southern France and drown out native species; the Brenne still has clean tree frog choruses. Everything here is protected — no capture.
Sources
Similar spectacles
Natterjack toad chorusThe loudest amphibian in Britain — a rolling, ratcheting chorus audible up to 2 km away across dunes.
Natterjack toad chorus on the Kerry dunesA loud, ratcheting 'rrrrRup, rrrrRup' chorus from dozens of males in shallow dune pools — the loudest amphibian in these islands — with the Atlantic surf behind the dunes and snipe overhead.
Tree frog choruses of Zeeuws-VlaanderenA rattling, surprisingly loud 'kè-kè-kè-kè' chorus from hundreds of tree frogs around the old fortress moats and pools — audible across the polder — with marsh frogs and nightingales behind; the ramparts of Retranchement alone hold a few hundred.
Fire-bellied toads, natterjacks and blue moor frogsFire-bellied toad's melancholy 'uh...uh' by the hundred over shallow pasture ponds, moor frog's bubbling 'waug-waug' underwater chorus, natterjack's ratcheting trill carrying 2 km across dune slacks, tree frogs at full volume, bittern and crane in the background.
Frog nights in the Danube floodplain forestTree frog volleys and fire-bellied toads' soft hooting from the oxbows (Altarme), marsh frog laughter, night herons croaking overhead, nightingale and beaver tail-slaps; Danube barges as a slow low bed.
Amphibian chorus of the intermittent lakeWall-to-wall Pelophylax chorus with tree frog 'krak-krak' on top, toad trills, yellow-bellied toad's soft 'poop-poop' from karst puddles, Savi's warbler and bittern in the mix.
More: all spectacles in France · frog and toad choruses · France in April · France in May · France in June