April 2010
Frog of the Day
Frog of the Day
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Most of the pictures are clickable
for an enlargement or a wider view
for an enlargement or a wider view
April pond
April begins with peepers and bullfrogs, with green frogs appearing during the month. The wood frogs are done with their noise-making and egg-laying and are quiet - April 1 is the last time I heard them. The gray treefrogs will arrive in May.
April 30
Painted turtle ... "Let me go!"
April 29
Spring peeper - they're winding down, but still a few left
April 28
Bullfrog
April 27
Spotted salamander "nymph" - a newly-hatched egg.
April 26
One of my regular pond citizens, shopping for the next meal. It's a bonanza "seafood" smorgasboard for any critter who moves into THIS neighborhood!
April 25
X marks the peeper!
A classic marking on "Hyla crucifer" ... click to see the whole frog.
April 24
A cute spring peeper - and QUIET, for once!
April 23
Salamander puppies! ... growing in their jelly eggs.
April 22
Same guy as April 12, hangin' out in his favorite place - the pond's shallow overflow channel. For a "surprise in the eyes", click to see the enlargement.
April 21
Big ears! Bullfrogs are all over the place... I'm waiting for more green frogs to show up (the OTHER summer frog in this pond)
April 20
Typical bullfrog headlights, out on the grass at night.
April 19
Palomino peeper! Lighter than most.
April 18
Spring peeper, deflated
April 17
Bullfrog - classic profile!
April 16
Spring peeper
April 15
Any scoopful of water near the shoreline will catch a few tadpoles every time. These are very small. I suspect wood frogs, because they have come and gone and done their breeding already.
Click on it to see how big it is.
April 14
Bullfrog.
The pink flotsam in the distance is a fall of maple tree blossoms (see April 4's Easter bonnet for a closeup).
April 13
Spring peeper with a BIG balloon.
The noise from a big blower like this is ear-splitting when you're close.
April 12
Just call me MISTER Bullfrog.
This guy must be several years old!
April 11
Next year's crop of spotted salamanders, growing in their Jello egg blobs. (A new page about eggs is coming soon.)
April 10
The spring peepers are still going strong! For what they sound like, go to Voice of the pond.
April 9
Bullfrogs come out of the water when the the air is warm and calm (over 65F/18C)
April 8
A surprise surfacing of a snapping turtle - several in the pond, but rarely seen.
Note added later, in July:
Rarely seen, that is, until this year! With a new camera that can shoot the far side of the pond, I have been looking for them, and seeing them often. See pond monster for an example.
April 7
Wood frog leaving the pond at night.
They arrive all at once in March to breed in the pond, then go back to the woods over the course of ... how long? This year I will watch for them crossing the road the other way on rainy nights.
For more about wood frog spring migration, visit salamander night.
April 6
First green frog of the season.
You can tell it's a green frog by the ridge that goes from the eardrum partway down the back. Bullfrogs don't have this ridge. (There are other ways to tell, but this is the easiest.)
April 5
Pinto-bean peeper.
This guy's balloon was unusually speckled, and reminded me of a pinto bean.
April 4
Sky in the eye!
This is the eye of the bullfrog in the "Easter bonnet" picture below. The sky is reflected in miniature in the pupil.
April 4
Easter bonnet.
The pond is sprinkled with maple tree flowers, and this bullfrog surfaced right up under one.
April 3
A bullfrog and ...
Click on the picture to find out what the surprise is.
April 3
Spring peeper hangin' out in an acorn cap.
Notice that this one doesn't have the classic "X" mark on its back.
To see more peeper patterns, visit the peeper page.
April 2
Typical bullfrog in the water.
I see about 4-5 along the shore every night, and about 4-5 in the daytime. There will be many more as the weeks go by.
April 1
Spring peepers with spring fever !
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