Wood Frogs

Here's another sighting that I should have posted earlier when you might have had a (good) chance to encounter them. At Duke Island Park about a month and a half ago I heard vocalizations that (to me) sounded a little like soft clucking noises. Suspicious of what might be making the sounds, I went a little off trail to a vernal pond and was rewarded with Wood Frogs.

Wood Frogs are right up there with the (louder) Spring Peepers as the earliest frogs you're liking to encounter as winter recedes. They're fairly tolerant of cold weather and are fairly vocal themselves, though they may not sound like what you'd expect from a frog.

These frogs are identified by a dark "mask" that starts as a line at the nose and widens after the eye.

March 14, 2022 at Duke Island Park
Photo 186587399, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

The only thing that was a little disconcerting about the frogs is their aggressive, sometimes murderous mating. The males are so eager to breed that they may overwhelm a female in the attempt. Though the enthusiasm reminds me of Northern Watersnakes (where I doubt the females are harmed) and yesterday's Unequal Cellophane Bees (where the females can get roughed up but probably nothing worse), female Wood Frogs sometimes die when numerous males are all attempting to breed with her simultaneously. I'm suspicious that's what happened in this vernal pond (see below). Though it sounds harsh, that's the way nature sometimes is.

March 14, 2022 at Duke Island Park
Photo 186587196, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)





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