northeast-flora-and-fauna

Despite the less-than-ideal photography conditions, this is most likely a Spring Peeper we met in the wetlands near the Duke Farms Orientation Center. Even if the picture doesn't capture the raw power and majesty of the inch-long Spring Peeper, it's still an excuse to talk about them. Spring Peepers are a type of chorus frog , and they have 2 relatives in New Jersey: New Jersey Chorus Frog and the Upland Chorus Frog . Their vocalizations aren't terribly different: Spring Peeper: "Peep!" New Jersey Chorus Frog: "Creek!" Upland Chorus Frog: "Creek!" "Preep!" It's surprisingly difficult to find these frogs even when you hear them singing all around you: They camouflage well. May be in water that's reflecting sunlight/flashlight glare. The ones in your immediate vicinity will sometimes go quiet when you're around them. This program was in the evening, but even in broad daylight it's much easier to hear these guys than it...

Though I got some pictures of Wood Frogs earlier in the season and had been hearing the small/elusive Spring Peepers about that time, it was only about 5 weeks ago that I started seeing one of our most visible frogs, the American Bullfrogs . I've talked before about how to differentiate them from their Green Frog cousins (hint: it's all about the dorsolateral ridges), a fairly similar frog that starts appearing about the same time of year. This wasn't my first bullfrog picture of the season but was one of the most handsome. I think they tend to look a little discolored and emaciated very early in the spring. A few weeks later they seem to regain their plumper and greener appearance. May 13, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 199462915, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) By way of comparison, here's one of the 1st pictures I got last year. April 13, 2021 at Delaware Raritan Canal Photo 121031804, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

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 eage...

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)