Off and on all winter, there have been tadpoles concentrating along the shore of the Wetlands between the end of the boardwalk and the main Wetlands Overlook. Some days the tadpoles are still, but often the water boils with their squirming bodies. Every so often, I catch some of our winter resident mergansers in the area, no doubt taking advantage of the concentrated mass of “food.”Read more
Posts tagged: #Bullfrog
Tadpoles?!
It’s cold outside! The water of the Wetlands is frozen clear across the pond. The Hooded Mergansers have taken flight for larger bodies of water. I’ve seen the Belted Kingfisher fly in each day to inspect the pond for open water only to leave frustrated, its loud, raucous rattle filling the frigid air. The Great Blue Heron has stuck it out, staying on the fringes of the pond where it might find a small patch of open water. Is there any openRead more
Fall Frogs
Although the temperatures are in the 50’s and 60’s (30’s and 40s at night), there are still frogs to be seen in the Wetlands. Bullfrogs and some Green Frogs may be active throughout the winter. When I say active, I don’t mean that they’ll be hopping about the landscape as in summer, but perhaps sitting quietly in a nice sunny spot out of the wind. You may not always be able to find them, but they’ll be there. Bullfrog tadpolesRead more
Time of the Frogs
We’re now entering the time of the year when there are more frogs in and around the Wetlands than at any other time. With the offspring of all of the frogs and toads that bred earlier in the season now becoming frogs, the numbers may be as high as they will be for the rest of the year. That’s good, because frogs make such good photographic subjects…We’ll start with a Bullfrog. As you have probably noticed, the three photos aboveRead more
Gulp!
It was just after noon on the first Friday of August. It was hot and humid. Earlier that morning Wayne, Camp Counselor, had reported seeing a large crawfish walking across the pavement in Explore the Wild. Over the past couple of months many of these large arthropods have been observed walking the paths of both Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind. Today was no different, or so I thought. I was just about to make the turn out of theRead more
Big Blue and the Bull
The Great Blue Heron is back, and hungry! A Bullfrog makes a nice meal for a heron. Our resident heron (below) has captured a large male frog. With a firm grip on the frog, the heron wades over to a nearby island to safely prepare the frog for consumption. The frog must be rendered motionless before it’s gulped down. A squirmy, wiggling frog may accidentally be dropped in the water and could be lost among the weeds and algae, tooRead more
A New Amphibian Song and other Herp News
Without question, American Toads (Bufo americanus) have taken the lead in the chorus of amphibian songsters. Peepers, chorus frogs and Pickerel Frogs have nearly completed their seasonal breeding and are now less frequently heard or seen. The toads began to move down into the Wetlands in numbers during the last week in March, crossing the pavement and massing on the north side of the water amongst the willows and rushes. Once the toads reach the water the males find aRead more
The Great Tadpole Rescue
During the last week in November I noticed a group of tadpoles individually surfacing and then quickly submerging in the murky water in the northwest corner of the Wetlands. There’s a pipe in that corner of the Wetlands which drains the higher ground above it. I’m not sure why this area is popular with tadpoles but the attraction must surely be related to the pipe; the same type of activity (a collection of tadpoles huddled together in this tiny corner ofRead more
Late Season Herps
The first couple of weeks in October were rather cloudy and wet. Whenever the sun did show itself, the turtles of the Wetlands took advantage of it by hauling out and basking in its warm rays. Young and old alike were out on all available perches. Mostly Yellow-bellied Turtles, but even a large snapper was spotted enjoying the brief bit of sun. The last few days of September and first couple of days of October brought many young treefrogs emergingRead more