northeast-flora-and-fauna

Late last summer I was finding quite a few Pickerel Frogs at the Washington Valley Reservoir. I guess you could say that things were really hopping down at the ole reservoir.  These frogs are a little smaller than the other frogs I typically run across ( American Bullfrogs , Green Frogs , Leopard Frogs ) but are fairly noticeable and distinctive looking. They're not like those Spring Peepers , who you can hear a bunch of them around you and still not find a frog. And these Pickerel Frogs were found a little way away from water; many frogs escape my camera by simply jumping in the water. The 2nd frog did try and hide in the local vegetation though. September 7, 2021 at the Washington Valley Reservoir Photo 167829440, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) September 7, 2021 at the Washington Valley Reservoir Photo 167829767, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a Pickerel Frog that I met at Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve. Unfortunately I couldn't get an unobstructed view of the little fella. They're fairly similar to our Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog (and other leopard frogs), but the Pickerel Frogs tend to have squarish spots that line up compared to the rounder spots in a more scattered pattern for the leopards. It sounds like they tend to spend the summers near but not in water, which is why their front feet aren't webbed - their non-webbed front feet are more helpful traversing around on land. May 2, 2021 at Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve