Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sounds like spring to me!

Have you been out in the garden and heard a funny sound like someone dragging their fingers over the teeth of a hair comb? It is our first spring frog to call the Upland Chorus Frog, Pseudacris triseria. Listen to the call here at Herps of NC. These are in fact tree frogs, only tree frogs have the sticky toe pads. There are several species of chorus frogs depending on where you live.
Impossible to find, so feel good just to hear them calling. Wanting to get your own photo? Good Luck :) It took me at least 10 years to find and photograph them, sorry I can not divulge my secret to photographing them. Anyway these photos were taken in 2004 in the back yard and along our pond.

These are razor sharp images, shame Blogger degrades them when I upload them.

Male calling for a female
This male seems to have a call the female liked!!

26 comments:

Victoria Williams said...

Still, great looking pics! I'm not sure if we have tree frogs around here or not.

Randy Emmitt said...

Kim and Victoria,

Bet you have Spring Peepers. We also have Gray Treefrogs, Green Treefrog and Spring Peepers all tree frogs.

Ginger said...

They look so tiny! Great shots!

Southern Lady said...

Love the pictures. We have tree frogs all over our windows in the summer. I am looking forward to their return.

sweetbay said...

The Spring Peepers are going crazy right now. We have Narrow-Mouthed Toads and others too, but they're not singing yet. Except for the Gray and Green Tree Frogs, I've seen one of these frogs only once. lol

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Looks like spring to me!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

What a romantic post! I haven't heard frogs in my garden yet, but little bunnies are already here, ready to munch on my plants!

Anonymous said...

Dear Randy, What extraordinary creatures and what amazing photographs. I have never come across these frogs before now and am completely fascinated.

Entangled said...

I'm hoping to hear our chorus frogs any day now. Usually around the first of March, but this year with all the snow and cold weather I suspect it might be later. I've never been able to see one in 3 years of looking. Now I know I have to wait 10 years. ;-) Thanks for the photos!

Dave@TheHomeGarden said...

I don't think we'll be hearing them for a little while yet! Very cool photos.

F Cameron said...

It is SNOWING right now, so I won't be hearing them. Fantastic photos and I can imagine you were camping out for days and day to get those photos!

Our bullfrogs haven't even shown themselves on the rare sunny days. I don't use the groundhog for the spring forecast -- I use bullfrogs.

Cameron

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Great photos of those cute little frogs...too bad they got so pixilated. (is that a word??)
Have you tried uploading them into picasa and then copying them to your post within the editor tab?

Kyna said...

I've only seen a tree frog one time. I was first visiting my husband and one was climbing up the side of our house...I wish I had the sense to have taken a pic of it lol. I do hear them all the time though...

Unknown said...

Great! I love there big songs. I didn't know what they were until someone told me. I couldn't believe how many I could here all around me! I will be listening for them.

I'm enjoying all the bird activity. The robins are out in full force now.

Skeeter said...

Great pictures and I cannot imagine them any sharper then this! Awesome!

We have been hearing some strange type frog sound all winter long. This is a new sound not like a normal sounding frog we are hearing. We find it difficult to believe it could be frogs as they should be hiding from the cold and freezing night temps. But something out in the woods for sure...

Becca's Dirt said...

Is he swooning for her. How funny. I always leave the frogs alone in my yard. After a rain the sounds they make can be soothing or it gets on your nerves. Great post.

Gorgeous hellobores in your previous post. Wish I could grow them here but NOT.

Victoria Williams said...

you're right, I found this website:
http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/wildlife/amphibians/frogs_and_toads/pacific_treefrog_.html

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I never hear frogs around here, I keep waiting for some to show up to my pond.
Great pictures!

RURAL said...

Randy, thanks for dropping by and saying hello. Nice to meet you, and I love your blog. I kind of have a thing for tree frogs....love em.

Thanks for the encouragement about the progressive lens, I guess that I should bite the bullet and go for it.

Jen

Liisa said...

Randy,
I thank you for identifying my Red Eft. I take such delight in their visits to my garden, and I am happy to know their presence is a treat. They must really like the conditions around our property, as I recall a day last summer after a brief summer rain... there must have been a dozen of them in our driveway.
Your tree frog images are wonderful. I so enjoy the sound of the Spring Peepers, and I shall attempt to snap a photograph of them this year.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, wonderful pictures. I do not see frogs around here at all. We do have toads. I set out little toad houses out for them, hoping to entice them to stay.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Randy and Meg,
I clicked to hear the frog sound. It's pretty cool, and does sound like a comb. I don't know if I've mentioned that my son has been a "herper" since he was a kid. Seeing your link with that word brought back memories. We had a number of snakes, lizards, and such in our house. He used to ride his bike off to look for herps in the undeveloped part of our neighborhood. I would tell him he had to have someone with him, but his few friends weren't obsessed like he was. He did win first place with his partner in the herp competition of the Science Olympiad when they were juniors.

I'll have to show your photos to his son, our 2 year old grandson and have him listen to them. The other day, when they were reading a book that had snakes, Grandson said, "Snakes bite you". My son went out and bought a big stuffed or plastic snake and some tongs. He has been hiding the snake in different rooms of the house, and then taking his son on a hunt for snakes. They pick it up with the tongs, and put it gently into a pillow case. I guess Grandson has loved doing that.

Have a great weekend!

Shady Gardener said...

Beautiful photos, Randy & Meg! I have a photo I should post sometime... perhaps you could ID the "fellow" I met in my yard last Summer. ;-)

Dirty Girl Gardening said...

I can't wait for Spring! And those frogs are adorable...

Carol said...

Randy, You are a wizard! What fabulous photos!!! I love the sound too... so different from our peepers ... your description of the comb is perfect and listening to the calls is transporting! ;>)

Kathleen said...

What terrific photos Randy! I can only imagine what they look like in real life as they are still excellent on your post. I don't know how you did it but the one of the male calling the female is fantastic.