01/6/15

Winners of the 2014 Backyard Frogs Photography Contest

Announcing the winners of the 2014 Backyard Frogs Photography Contest hosted by Frogs Are Green!

I want to thank this year’s judges: Sigrid Shreeve, Christine Guhl, Megan Maloy, Sam Skolnik Mullane, Alyssa Bredin, Keith Gisser, and Andy Levine.

1st Place Winner: 2014 Backyard Frogs, Costa Rican Frog photographed by Chela Crinnion of New York.

2014 Backyard Frogs, 1st place Winner, Costa Rican Frog photographed by Chela Crinnion of New York

2nd Place Winner: 2014 Backyard Frogs, Northern Cricket Frog, Mike Adamovic, New York.

2014 Backyard Frogs, 2nd place winner by Mike Adamovic, Northern Cricket Frog, New York.

3rd Place Winner: 2014 Backyard Frogs, Common Indian Tree Frog by Choti Singh.

2014 Backyard Frogs, 3rd place winner, common indian treefrog by Choti Singh.

Honorable Mention: 2014 Backyard Frogs, Pickerel Frog by Wes Deyton, North Carolina.

2014 Backyard Frogs, Honorable Mention, Pickerel Frog by Wes Deyton, North Carolina.

Honorable Mention: 2014 Backyard Frogs by Zakiyah Hasanah, age 10, from Indonesia with Frog in a Pipe.

2014 Backyard Frogs, Honorable Mention by Zakiyah Hasanah, age 10 from Indonesia with Frog in a Pipe.

To see the entire gallery of 34 images submitted visit: 2014 Backyard Frogs Photo Contest on Flickr.

– Founder and Frogs Are Green administrator, Susan Newman.

06/18/14

Calling Amphibian Monitoring Project (CAMP)

The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ coordinates the statewide Calling Amphibian Monitoring Program (CAMP). The object of this program is to assess the distribution, abundance, and health of New Jersey’s amphibians. This is part of a larger initiative called the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) and the data collected in New Jersey will be submitted into the National database.

Gray-Tree-Frog-by-M-Patterson

Each of the 16 species of frogs and toads in New Jersey has a unique vocalization or “call” that can be heard during their mating season.

Here’s a list and call quiz of the Frogs in New Jersey:
Eastern Spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii)
American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)
Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)
Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans)
Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii)
Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea)
Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
unknown gray treefrog species (Hyla chrysoscelis/versicolor)
Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)
Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)
New Jersey Chorus Frog (Pseudacris kalmi)
American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
Carpenter Frog (Lithobates virgatipes)
Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans)
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus)
Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris)

The Amphibians that are listed as Endangered or Threatened in New Jersey:

Endangered Amphibians
Salamander, blue-spotted – Ambystoma laterale
Salamander, eastern tiger – Ambystoma tigrinum
Treefrog, southern gray – Hyla chrysocelis

Threatened Amphibians
Salamander, eastern mud – Pseudotriton montanus
Salamander, long-tailed – Eurycea longicauda
Treefrog, pine barrens – Hyla andersonii
 

Volunteers participating in the CAMP project conduct roadside surveys (after dusk) for calling amphibians along designated routes throughout the state. Each 15-mile route is surveyed three times during the spring (March, April & June), during the given four week period. Each route has 10 stops, where you stop, listen and record for 5 minutes. A structured protocol is followed to determine which nights to survey, how long to survey, which species are calling, and how to estimate the total number of individuals calling at each site. All volunteers receive a Calls of NJ Frogs and Toads, CD with which to familiarize themselves with the calls.

The results of these surveys will provide ENSP (Endangered and Nongame Species Program) and the United States Geological Survey with valuable data on the calling amphibian populations in New Jersey. Because each route will be surveyed at the same time and for the same amount of time, routes can be directly compared within a given year and between years. This allows for trends in populations to be identified over time and if needed steps may be taken to protect these populations in the near future.

— Larissa Smith, Biologist/Volunteer Manager, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ

04/2/14

Pickerel Frog Calling

Guest post by Wes Deyton, North Carolina.

Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris) by Wes Deyton, North Carolina.

Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris) by Wes Deyton, North Carolina.

The Pickerel frog is a small frog that can be found all throughout North America. It can be found from Maine to North Georgia. It is identified by what looks to be hand drawn squares on their bodies. Now that the weather is warming up, the frogs are back out and calling. Male frogs call during this time of the year in order to attract the female Frogs.

I took this video in a pond behind my house using a Canon Rebel T4i and Canon 100mm Macro Lens.

From Wikipedia, a cool fact about the Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris):
The skin secretions of a stressed pickerel frog are known to be toxic to other frogs, as many a novice frog catcher has found when he finds only the pickerel frog still alive in his bucket. These secretions can also be moderately irritating if they come in contact with the eyes, mucous membranes, or broken skin.

About Wes Deyton, nature photographer in North Carolina:
Wes Deyton, nature photographer in North CarolinaMy name is Wes Deyton. I live in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.  I love to take my camera out into the woods and look for wildlife to photograph. I have a website www.lastmilephotography.com and a Facebook page with tons of Frog, Bird, and other wildlife pictures.