Wood frogs and spring peepers

Just four days after our last walk that introduced the mystery sound, the vernal pool was alive with an almost deafening din of frogs. Most of the racket is from spring peepers, but it’s punctuated by the clucking of some wood frogs. Hearing the clucks in the company of the rest of the choir confirmed that it was frogs I was hearing.

I read the Handbook of Nature Study on the subject of frogs (177-87). Then I turned to the ever-helpful YouTube and found this video on wood frogs and this one on the Northern spring peeper. They introduce the element of sound — a luxury that is spoiling even this lifelong book enthusiast when it comes to identifying things I observe in the woods.

They also improve significantly on my video by actually showing the frogs. As Older Daughter and I crouched at the edge of the vernal pool, surrounded by the earsplitting amphibian multitude, we searched in vain for an actual visual of the frogs. Were they hiding, or are we such desperate amateurs that we just didn’t see them? It was pretty funny.

Are the woods always this noisy in March? Or are we just noticing this year?

I’m happy to report that I did actually see a few frogs in a nearby pool, but they were quiet ones. I think they were the green frogs pictured on page 182 of the Handbook.

I’m wondering about the timeline. The frogs we saw must be awakening from their long winter’s naps. Some of them must have been awake for awhile, though — long enough to lay the eggs that hatched into tadpoles. I saw one tadpole that sported four little legs, so it’s been growing for some time.

On our way out, we looked under some rocks and logs in hopes of seeing spotted salamanders, but all we saw were a few red-backed ones. If we want to see eggs, it appears we might find some if we look in the same places in June or July.

The brown creeper visited us again. My husband was the spotter. It’s a sweet-voiced little bird, and I marvel at how well it blends in with the bark of trees.