LOVE IS IN THE AIR, BABY. FROG LOVE. My backyard is alive with the sounds, and sights, of the start of mating season, with a pair of wood frogs (above) leading the way. I’m trying to train my ear to tease apart who’s who in the cacophonous ensemble out back, and I got some help (thank you, internet!) from Dylan Cebulske of Illinois, a.k.a. “Herping With Dylan,” including this amazing video of his:
Now before you go thinking dirty thoughts about my wood frog friends up in the top photo, who by the way quack like ducks to my ear, know this:
They are simply engaged in amplexus (doesn’t that sound tame and scientific?), in which the male (in this species the smaller frog) clasps the larger female around the back. This goes on for some time, and they don’t seem to be one bit shy. The embrace began right out at poolside, where 15 other frogs were sunning themselves, including the few in the background of the photo below. Eventually the happy couple retreated into the shrubbery onto a bed of pine needles, and finally into the water, where the eggs must be laid.
Everyone’s feeling frisky. The two bullfrogs who overwintered in one of my pools one recent year split one early spring Saturday night under cover of a giant rainstorm, as they do every year about that time, seeking a bigger body of water for breeding. My prediction: They’ll be back, on a wet fall night.
other frog adventures
- Close encounter with a wood frog
- The Herping With Dylan YouTube channel
- When the bullfrogs are on the move
- What happens when male green frogs get jealous
One summer night years ago my husband and I were at the beach area on a Lake where I lived and there were hundreds of frogs (maybe even more) swimming through the water, onto the beach where they engaged in the same activity you show here. It is something I will never forget.
Welcome, Mary Ellen. Amplexus — a long embrace for fertilizing the eggs outside the female’s body — is one of spring’s many miracles, isn’t it? Nice to “meet” you and hope you stop in again soon.
I just came to this post and thought you (and perhaps some readers) would enjoy this wonderful essay: Some Thoughts on the Common Toad by George Orwell, now available online. http://george-orwell.org/Some_Thoughts_on_the_Common_Toad/0.html
Hi,
I have a pond in my yard in Seattle and have 3 bullfrogs which laid eggs last year and I put them in a separate pot so the fish wouldn’t eat them. They did turn into tiny tadpoles, but they didn’t overwinter…any suggestions as to keep them alive over the winter? And also what to feed them? I read that tadpoles will eat lettuce, but they were so small, I am not sure they could eat the lettuce. I love hearing the frogs all day/night and when some people walk by, they really have no idea what the noise is…it’s pretty fun to have frogs in the city!
Ken
Hi, Ken. Did the water freeze over or stay “open” and unfrozen at least partway? If it freezes that can suffocate (no gas exchange through the ice). They also like some debris/muck/mud in the bottom I think. I don’t feed anybody — they feed themselves!
Hi,
It didn’t freeze completely as we usually have ‘mild’ winters here in the city, but it did have a thin layer on top at times…never completely covered. If I can get more eggs this year, I was thinking of bringing them in for the winter…do you think they ‘need’ the cold? Curious how I can get some more frogs…thanks!
Ken
I can’t wait to put in a small pond this year and see who, hopefully, shows up! So inspiring!