Spring has Sprung.

Finally, Spring has sprung here in Mid-Ohio.

The Crocus in my yard are blooming, and several European Honey Bees were servicing them. It is not surprising the phrase "the birds and the bees" came about.  After all, bees are the primary reproduction aides for many of our plants.  

 Looking a little scruffy, but happy to be in the sunshine, a Red Squirrel is working the seed pile under my bird feeders. One can only hope he isn't engineering a way to get to his "higher source" (of bird seed).

 Whoa, a sure sign of spring.  Winter weary joggers headed to the local bike trail for the season's first run.
Several couch potatoes panted past as I soaked up sunshine and the ambient songs of spring.

One of the best vernal pools for listening to the "clack, clack, clack" of Wood Frogs is located on the Richland County bike trail.  Go here to see and hear a You-tube video of calling Wood Frogs.

Snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis are planted along the trail.  I haven't seen any native wildflowers in bloom yet, but I'll not be a native plant snob today.  It is so wonderful to see something -anything- in bloom!

Welcome Spring!  We have been waiting for you.

Our earliest frogs

Of all of Ohio's frogs, the Wood Frog is best suited for winter.   Early spring fluctuates wildly from  balmy breezes with temperatures spiking into the 50-60's to cold windy, snow-splattered days. Wood Frog isn't phased. Truly a cold weather frog, range maps indicate their presence well into Alaska. This freeze-tolerant species can really "break the ice" at those vernal pool parties.

Wood Frog,       photo by John Howard

What to wear?  Wood Frogs' skin coloring ranges from tans and browns to PINK?  And, they have a "bandit' mask like a raccoon!  Did I mention their calls sound like a duck's "quack" or "clack"?  Seriously, it is all true.  You just can't make up stories like this! 

Once I found Wood Frogs on my property, my whole life changed.  Who could imagine a frog that lives in a forest and only visits the water once a year?  Endlessly fascinating and barely known among "'normal" people. Certainly, if I have the power, they would be protected in my own yard.  Thus, the vernal pool in the side yard was reclaimed from the drainage-tiled lawn.


Wood Frogs in amplexus,     photo by John Howard

"How about a hug, big girl?"  The males (on top) are slightly smaller, but their forearms and thumbs are swollen to a larger-than-normal size in the spring.  "All the better to clasp you with, my Dear." 

 

This is called amplexus- the male holds tight and fertilizes the female's eggs as they are being laid.



Wood Frog eggs,   photo by John Howard

Frog and salamander eggs can be distinguished by numerous characteristics.  Wood Frogs lay small eggs in clumps. Toads lay their aquatic eggs in strings or lines.  Salamaders' eggs are often "glued" to a stick or stem protruding from the water.

 

Spring is well upon us, and I hope you will take advantage of the excitement that only occurs this time of year.  Spring Peepers, Wood Frogs and many other amphibians are gathering at a vernal pool near you. 

 

Go ahead.  Look a little...  I won't tell.

 



March Madness: Frog Courting 101

Spring has officially arrived when the frogs start singing. Frog song is not only aesthetically pleasing to me, the female froggies are wild about it too! Since several species of frogs gather in the same water-holes, how does a poor gal know what to do? Consider this blog your "Female Frog's Guide to the Singles' Scene."



The first frogs to the vernal pools in mid-Ohio are the Western Chorus Frog, Pseudacris triseriata. Pseudacris- roughly translates to "false locust"- and their insect-like call is much like a thumb-stroking the teeth of a comb. Dime-sized, yellow at the jaw line and three distinctive stripes are worn by all stylin' Western boys (cowboy hat not included).

The Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer crucifer is a lead-singer and a high pitched songster: peep-peep-peep. They arrive at the pools a bit later ( I heard numerous calls today), but are similar in size to the chorus frogs. The name Crucifer- means cross-bearing, and the Peepers have a large X on their backs.

Easily found by their ear-piercing chorus, some frog researchers have reported feeling nauseated from the deafening sound created by a frog chorus in full-swing. No amplifiers needed by these amphibian rock-stars, they do it all with an expandable, vibrating vocal sac.

.......Photo by John Howard

Last to arrive to the woodland frog singles' scene is the land-loving Wood Frog, Lithobates sylvatica . This terrestrial frog is found in woodlands and only gather at the water for a short breeding period in the spring. Wood frogs are indicators of high quality, undisturbed woodlots- and have suffered from habitat loss due to development. Recently they were completely extirpated from Franklin County, and efforts to re-introduce them have been ongoing.

Pinkish- to brown in coloration, sporting a bandit's black mask, and deceptively using a voice of duck, these frogs Quack-clack-clack their love calls to attract suitable females.

........ Photo by Warren Uxley

This is the only time of year Wood Frogs can be found in the water.

These early frogs species are sensitive, and negatively impacted by chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and logging. If quality wetlands continue to decline in Ohio, it will be come even more difficult to find these cryptic woodland singers.

To learn more about wetlands and the interesting creatures that inhabit them, you want to sign up for the Managing Wetlands for Biodiversity Conference being held April 10th 2010 in Ashland. Go right here for the details and registration form.