Odd Chirping Sounds At Night (not Crickets?)

[arndthwrld82]

I can't believe I found a thread for this topic. I've been hearing this same noise the last few nights and was wondering what kind of critter it is. Like the OP I also live in Westchase, so I guess we have a chirping frog infestation over here! :-)

[tracidacious]

I know this is an old post, but I was searching the net because I have been hearing these weird "chirps" for a very long time and I can't see birds around my yard when I hear them! It's being picked up on y Smart Alarm when it records to! Sound so close to the house- just crazy. WHAT IS IT???

[Witch King]

Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides

 (Reo Grande Chirping Frog)

 

Edited February 28, 2015 by Witch King

[MarkG]

I would be willing to guess that it is Gecko (like lizards but not green)  They Look like this:

http://www.texasinvasives.org/animal_database/detail.php?symbol=17

In my neighborhood we have zillions of them particularly in the bushes. They are very noisy at night.

 

[Cmensing]

King birds or flycatcher, also kaydidys if they are oak trees

[Jibbles]

I live in Austin and hear the same sounds. At first was afraid they were tree roaches. But after finding this youtube video...this is the exact sound I hear at night and during the day all around my house.

Tons of these little frogs. I know someone already posted a video of the sounds, but it was hard to hear the audio of the other video. This one has me convinced:
 

 

Edited May 21, 2016 by Jibbles

[Taylor75]

In Houston those sounds are most likely chirping frogs. The adults are about 1" long and they are plentiful.

[Vishen]

I can only wish that I stayed in a place where I could hear those kind of noises in the night. Unfortunately for me all I hear are sirens and car alarms going off. I am eagerly looking forward to the day when I can finally move from this neighborhood to one that is at least a bit quieter. 

[Rosa]

Trying to find out  what this  chirping sound is. I  Hear it at night and it sounds like a smoke detector with low battery.  It's coming from  outside my home;  from a tree? the sky?  I've heard it before in my previous home.  I can't find the source and it's a bit unnerving.  It is not a cricket or crickets, sounds more mechanical, every two minutes or so, I hear that chirp.  Is that silly?  Has anyone heard anything like that?  It goes on for hours.

[strickn]

Many forum posters agree it is the Rio Grande Chirping Frog.  Two videos above to verify.

[Munther]

On 7/20/2005 at 9:54 AM, bruce_oneal said:

has anyone else been hearing these weird chirping sounds at night? i thought it was birds or something as it kinda sounds like a fire detector that has a low battery. but the sounds come from one tree to the next (and sometimes from the sky).

i was also thinking bats?

i know what crickets sounds like --or at least i thought i did.

been hearing it in westchase, but also was downtown last night and heard the sounds there too ... i have not seen any evidence of birds making the sounds.

Haha I went through the same thread of thoughts. Birds, bats, then crickets. I’m still unsure what the hell is that. It’s beautiful and spooky in the same time!

[Munther]

On 7/20/2005 at 10:08 PM, bruce_oneal said:

so now there are about 5 theories:

1. aliens --interesting but not probably --at least not in my 'hood

2. frogs (in trees no less)

3. chickadees

4. bats

5. nighthawks

lol

i was really serious when i wrote the post this a.m., but this is getting comical.

lol

It was the god damn frogs!!! 😂 beautiful sounding at night though. I captured one and put it in one of those lizard cages. The sound was confusing me I kept looking around the cage and beyond. I didn’t know it was coming from right there! 

[Hurlygirl1]

I know it’s been 14 years but did you ever find out what that chirping noise was?  Asking for a friend.  I hear it all over my neighborhood and in the shrubs right outside our bedroom windows.  

Edited August 7, 2019 by Hurlygirl1

[DimpledRN]

I’m no expert on anything but do love birds and they’re not the culprits. Started noticing nocturnal chirping from our flowerbeds in the mid ‘90s.....here’s the relative newcomer to SETx....

http://frogcalls.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-central-texas-chirping-frogs.html?m=1

[Flossy]

They are birds peeping in their sleep.  My father and mother always had fights about it.  He said it was tree frogs, and she said it was birds.  I came and looked it up just now because I actually thought I was really hearing bats.  We have quite a few bats in The Woodlands.  Anyway, I have looked up the sounds a bat makes and guess what?  We can't hear them without something like a sonar device.  So there ya go, it's birds having sweet dreams.

[samagon]

the answer is actually Geckos!

 

it's a quick video, but captures the sound.

 

 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

never in my life would I have thought I would be coming to an architecture forum to learn that birds and gekos snore.

[crock]

i love the rio grande chirping frogs in my pier and beam balloon walls 

[Stx_Cali]

-

Edited September 12, 2020 by Stx_Cali
Duplicate post

[Stx_Cali]

I am in the Beeville, TX area and am so happy to learn that what I am hearing are the chirping frogs! Thanks to all the previous posters. 

[ChalkyString]

Wow, I'm glad to see so many other people googled to find out what was making  strange nocturnal chirping sounds. I listened to audio of all the critters suggested over the past 15 years since the original post, and I finally found the source of the sound I hear each night here in Austin. And the winner is.....RIO GRANDE CHIRPING FROG!!  It makes me happy knowing there are tiny frogs outside my bedroom window. 

[Ma23peas]

Banded rubber frog- not sure if they are native- but that call is exactly what I heard that sounded like a shrill chirp!!!

[Irish]

Okay, I'm a newbie, but I see this thread has been going on awhile. Glad I found it! I'm in SW Florida (now) and sit out on our lanai at night. Periodically I hear a noise; sounds like {remember when you were a kid and you blew up a balloon, then just held it closed and let the air out slow, the ends pinched between your fingers, so it sounded like a high pitched {fart} release of gas, or you stepped on your dog's squeaky toy? It's not crickets, or birds, or katydids or frogs - we also have our home in Wisconsin - I know all those sounds. Could it really be geckos? Thanks for anyone's input!

[Complexity]

Thank you to those who identified the chirping sound as a Rio Grande Chirping Frog. 💕 

We’ve been hearing the chirping at night, but couldn’t place it. Like most others, I thought bird, my husband thought cricket, and we both agreed that it sounded like an alarm.

After reading the thread and listening to the videos posted with the sound made by the Rio Grande Chirping Frog which are a dead ringer for the chirping sound we’re hearing, we’re both happy to know what’s causing the chirping. Thank you!

Edited April 10, 2023 by Complexity