American Bullfrog

A couple months ago at Sourland Mountain Preserve, I ran across this American Bullfrog. The little pond adjacent to the parking area was just teeming with interesting critters that day; I had already photographed geese, ducks, a butterfly, and a snake before spotting a few bullfrogs.

It's easy to get a circle of life theme evident at this little pond. Certainly the butterflies and dragonflies at the pond could be food for the bullfrogs. The bullfrogs could be a meal for the Northern Watersnake, and (probably when they're younger) the Mallards. The Canada Goose droppings recycle nutrients for the plant life (even though there may be a bit of an overexposure of these droppings). The snakes didn't have obvious predators that I could see, though I wouldn't be surprised if a snapping turtle could be lurking in there somewhere. And of course a visit from a hungry Great Blue Heron would be happy to eat the snakes and frogs.

There were no doubt a lot of predator-prey relationships going on here.

May 27, 2021 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 133210713, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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