diff --git a/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c b/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c
index 5f3d8f7b14cecc79ddb9ef373a225ecba3a52b84..e5ef2eeafc875d359f306f821f2d76d46449f43d 100644
--- a/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c
+++ b/cpu/esp32/esp-eth/esp_eth_netdev.c
@@ -262,8 +262,8 @@ static int _esp_eth_recv(netdev_t *netdev, void *buf, size_t len, void *info)
         /* return the packet */
 
         if (dev->rx_len > len) {
-            LOG_TAG_ERROR("esp_eth", "Not enough space in receive buffer "
-                          "for %d byte\n", dev->rx_len);
+        /* buffer is smaller than the number of received bytes */
+        DEBUG("%s: Not enough space in receive buffer for %d bytes\n",
             mutex_unlock(&dev->dev_lock);
             return -ENOBUFS;
         }