WHILE A BALD EAGLE CIRCLED OVERHEAD one sunny day last week, this guy let me sit beside him on the still-cold grass and visit awhile. Say hello to a wood frog, one of the earliest species to be out and hopping about, and dressed in garden-appropriate terra cotta, no less. Sometimes I don’t know how I got from where I was to here, but am I ever thankful. Learn more about the wood frog, Rana sylvatica, and our impromptu chat:
I’ve never actually seen a wood frog of this size (about 2-1/2 inches long) or coloration (they range from tans and browns to rusty like this and apparently also grays and greens), and couldn’t even key him out at first because of his near-coppery colored skin. None of the specimens pictured in my many amphibian books showed this hue. And then I got it: the mask, the black mask. The wood frog is referred to as wearing a robber’s mask, and in fact the vivid black marking extends from his typanum (the stretched membrane he hears with) right down and onto his front legs.
I say “he” because the frog was on the move, not near a watery breeding area, perhaps in pursuit of that special someone as the very cold-tolerant wood frogs are inclined to be even in March. I also say it because he was so brightly colored. Females, though typically larger than males, tend to be less vivid, I quickly learned from my favorite zoology site. I didn’t ask if I could pick him up and look on the undersides of those thighs of his, which would have sealed it: if they’re extra-colorful, it’s a guy, apparently. I just had that feeling, and I know a thing or two about frogboys.
We sat together for a good 15 minutes, during which time he was motionless. And then it was me, not the frog, who moved on. Off to plant the peas I went, and my new friend perhaps to look for the one for him.
Handsome little fellow.
Welcome, Keewee, and I will relay your compliment when he and I next meet. :)
Gorgeous color!
He is very dapper, he must have been is pleased to know his picture will be with the of handsome guys.
If I looked that good I’d sit still for the camera for 15 minutes too!
Margaret, I don’t know you, but I am predicting a zoology degree in your future….
A most handsome fella’ … almost kissable :) Happy April gardening!
The frog is very handsome ;), and wherever Eagle soars, the native People have recognized this splendid bird as a symbol of strength and courage. That must have been awesome! Myself, I feel honored the few times I’ve had an Eagle fly over our property. I photographed an Eagle recently and put one of my Mothers poems with the picture, I’d like to share the poem:
“IF”
If I were an Eagle
I’d soar through the sky,
And look down on people
much lesser than I
SO…God made me a sparrow
With wings small and trim,
And now I fly low
And look up to him.
Geneva Thompson McDonald
Welcome, maggiemay2day, and thank you for the poem from your mother. I have never photographed the eagle successfully…I had the closer-in lens on for my other friend’s portrait session. Maybe next time. See you again soon.
Belatedly saw your post on wood frogs. That explains the color of a new frog in my back yard near a small fish pool. I heard a new frog call, and just managed to deter the cat from making a meal of the new guy! You might enjoy a visit to the home of Edna St. Vincent Millay just up the road in Austerlitz. Was there last week for a tour of the house and grounds. They are working on the gardens and hope to restore her swimming pool which is currently home to thousands of tadpoles!
What a handsome fellow…. I am hearing peepers here and enjoying their songs.
I met my first wood frog on a walk to Stump Pond in Stephentown, NY, around 30 years ago, on a bright, sunny afternoon in spring or fall. As I sauntered the half mile along the abandoned road through, appropriately enough, the woods, taupe tan leaves began to hop on the shoulder. The uncharacteristic movement had me stop and investigate. I knew bullfrogs, leopard and pickerel frogs; this was not those. Not a bumpy Fowler’s toad, either, tho’ the colors were similar. A fast jumper, he (she?) was not easy to catch, and after a few attempts, I had him. Also about 2 1/2 inches long, the fellow was the most elegant frog I’d seen, slick and lean and streamlined, his black eye makeup, shades of cool tans, all the perfect complement to the dry leaves he had been blending with until he hopped. I returned him to his camouflage and looked up his identity when I got back to the house. I’ve only seen a few since, none as large as he was.
I’ve just thoroughly enjoyed catching up on your froggy posts of the past, and am very inspired to create a water-trough oasis at my next home. Thanks for some high quality blog entertainment on a rainy afternoon in from the garden.