Frogs at the Pond

I promised I'd report on frog calls when I posted my treefrog message. The main observation point is a pond a few hundred meters from our house and the surrounding ditches and wet spots. So far I have heard four frog species this year.

The first sign of amphibians were the green frog tadpoles that appeared on the first nights with above 0 degrees Celsius. They came to the edge of the pond and the surface where there is some dead vegetation. When you approach the pond they all wiggle away into the pond weed.

The first frogs to call were the spring peepers a few weeks ago. They have been calling at varying strength, loud when the nights are warm, quietly when they have been cold.

The tree frogs started at the same time but their number issmaller and their call has less force, so you only hear them when you are really close or the peepers have stopped momentarily.

A clump of eggs appeared in the pond about 1.5 weeks ago, it is gone now.

Last week (May 3) the toads started calling. There only seem to be 2-3.

Also, some frogs that may be young green frogs have appeared at the pond.

Shortly after the green frog tadpoles some red-spotted newts showed up in the pond.

Also, I found a red-backed salamander in the gully behind the house.

Reptiles have been a bit more scarce. The only exception is a painted turtle that has been around the pond for several weeks.