California Red-legged Frog

Posted on May 20, 2017 by tspuckler

This amphibian only lives in California. I’ve encountered them several times on my visits to the Golden State, though they are federally listed as a threatened species and are protected by law.

This species is estimated to have disappeared from 70% of its range; it is an important food source for the endangered San Francisco Garter Snake. Two reasons for this amphibian’s decline are invasive species and habitat loss.

The California Red-legged Frog became famous for being the frog featured in Mark Twain’s short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

At two to five inches long, it is the largest native frog in the western United States. It has a reddish coloring on the underside of the legs and belly. The back and top of the legs are covered in black spots or blotches. Typically, the face has a dark mask and a tan or light colored stripe above the jaw that extends to the shoulder.

Like most frogs, they will eat just about anything they can catch and fit in their mouths. Most of the time their food is insects. Their favored habitat is slow-moving or standing deep ponds, pools and streams. Tall vegetation, like grasses, cattails and shrubs, provide protection from predators and the sun.

Some of its challenges are non-native American Bullfrogs (which are well established in California) competing for habitat as well as eating them. Another challenge is homes, farms and buildings being built on their wetland habitats.

I enjoy coming across these very cool creatures when visiting the West Coast, hopefully a way will be found to preserve what’s left of their population.

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Sierran Treefrog

Posted on April 22, 2017 by tspuckler

During my recent visit to California, I came across several examples of this small frog with a big head, large eyes, a slim waist, round pads on the toe tips and limited webbing between its toes.

The name “treefrog” is not entirely accurate. This frog is chiefly a ground-dweller, living among shrubs and grass typically near water, but occasionally it can also be found climbing high in vegetation.

Its large toe pads allow it to climb easily, and cling to branches, twigs, and grass. Like most frogs, its primary food is insects and other invertebrates.

These amphibians can be a number of different colors, including green, tan, reddish, gray, brown, cream and black; most are a shade of green or brown, with pale or white bellies.

They have a variety of dark markings on their backs and sides and a black or dark brown eye stripe that stretches from the nose, across the eye, and back to the shoulder.

Adult Sierran Treefrogs are generally 1 to 2 inches long. On average, females are larger than males.

The Sierran Treefrog makes its home around creeks, as well as woodlands, grassland, chaparral, pasture land, and even urban areas – including backyard ponds. It’s always fun to come across these charming and cool creatures.

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Green Treefrog

Posted on October 8, 2016 by tspuckler

These frogs are found in the central and southeastern United States and have large toe pads to help them grip the trees and other plants they climb. They may have a light white or yellowish stripe that runs from their jaw along the side of their body.

The Green Treefrog can be found in marshes, wet fields, cypress swamps and along the edges of lakes, ponds and streams. It likes spots with lots of ground cover and aquatic vegetation. During the day, it often sleeps on the undersides of leaves or in other moist, shady places; I saw this one napping on Poison Ivy near a swamp.

The creatures are sometimes called rain frogs. Some people think that they are good indicators of rainy weather because they call loudest during damp weather.

Like many other frogs, Green Treefrogs are insectivores that commonly consume flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects. Males are usually smaller than females and have yellow to greenish-yellow throats.

A familiar backyard species, it is popular as a pet, and is the state amphibian of Georgia and Louisiana.

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Woodhouse’s Toad

Posted on July 23, 2016 by tspuckler

Amphibians in the desert? It almost seems like a contradiction of terms, yet there are some types of toads that find a way to make a living in the arid, hot Mojave Desert. I saw one of them while visiting this desert spring this month.

The Woodhouse’s Toad is a robust, medium-sized amphibian that can get up to five inches in length. Their call resembles the bleat of a sheep and lasts one to three seconds. Like most True Toads, it has warty skin, horizontal pupils, and neck (parotoid) glands which store poison, the toad’s main defense against being eaten.

In the desert part of its range, this amphibian is usually found in lowland areas, beside streams and rivers. They hide in burrows during the daytime to avoid the desert heat.

As an adult, it is a nocturnal creature feeds on insects and other small invertebrates. The young toads can be seen in the daytime and I’ve come across them a few times along desert waterways. The Woodhouse’s Toad hibernates during the Winter and becomes active once the weather warms. One of its first activities after hibernation is breeding. Like other species of toads, this species lays several thousand eggs in flooded areas as well as permanent bodies of water.

This amphibian’s adaptability goes beyond being able to live in a harsh climate: They coexist well with introduced American Bullfrogs, crayfish and fish.

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Dwarf American Toad

Posted on January 9, 2016 by tspuckler

I love toads and finding a new type while on a herping adventure is always a thrill. In October, while visiting southern Illinois, I came across a couple of examples of this little gem.

As the name implies, the Dwarf American Toad is rather small – about 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches. These creatures are often brick red in color without any distinct pattern. The bumps behind their eyes are called paratoid glands; they produce a foul-smelling, toxic chemical. This keeps some predators from trying to eat these toads.

These amphibians are found in most of the south central region of the United States. They live in habitats ranging from forests, open fields and pastures and even residential areas – as long as the habitat contains leaf litter, sandy or loamy soil for burrowing, moist hiding places, and an abundance of food.

Toads are most often seen and heard in the Spring when they are breeding. They are also seen frequently in the Fall when they look for new places to live and hibernate. They are mostly active at night.

Dwarf American Toad are predators and they eat a lot. Insects, spiders, earthworms, snails, and slugs make up most of their diet, but they will eat just about anything that fits in their mouths. They catch food by lashing out with their sticky tongues to grab prey. If the prey is large, they will use their arms to stuff it into their mouths.

This amphibian’s Latin subspecies name, charlesmithi is in honor of its discoverer, Charles Clinton Smith – an American naturalist and educator in the early 1900s.

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Bird-voiced Treefrog

Posted on October 3, 2015 by tspuckler

Bird-voiced Treefrogs inhabit wooded swamplands of the south, where they can be heard calling during spring and summer. I have found several on my current trip to southern Illinois.

This is a small species growing to 1-1/8 inches to 1-3/4 inches long. It is usually has a dark, irregular pattern and a pale grey or brown on its dorsal surface, but its color changes with the temperature and its level of activity, and may it sometimes be pale green.

The Bird-voiced Treefrog is found over much of the southeastern United States. Its favored habitat is wooded swamps near streams and rivers. It blends in very well with the tree trunks where it usually hangs out.

They have large toe pads with adhesive, or sticky, disks on the tips of their toes. They allso have bright “flash colors” on their thighs (which are hidden when the frog is at rest) to visually confuse predators.

They are a highly arboreal species, climbing high into tree and are opportunistic feeders. Their diet consists mainly of spiders and small insects. They are nocturnal and forage for food primarily in trees at night time.

The Bird-voiced Treefrog’s call is a series of piping, bird-like whistles, which occur in rapid succession. This frog is listed as “threatened” in Illinois, where I found the examples in this blog post.

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Fowler’s Toad

Posted on September 20, 2015 by tspuckler

This toad looks similar to the American Toad, though it is slightly smaller and has several subtle distinguishing features. The easiest way to identify it is that it has three or more warts within each dark spot on its back.

I have almost always found this amphibian in sandy habitats, such as woodlands, meadows, prairies, sand dunes and lake shores. It prefers areas with loose soil that it can easily burrow into. Its skin is warty and bumpy. Toads have two kidney-shaped, raised parotid glands just behind their eyes that contain toxins. This is how these relatively slow-moving creatures prevent themselves from being eaten by predators.

Toads have big appetites and are considered to be beneficial to man, as they use their long tongues to snap up insects and other invertebrates. Fowler’s Toads are solitary, except when they congregate in shallow pools to breed in the spring. Their call is not as melodious as the trill of the American Toad; the Fowler Toad’s song sounds more like a buzzy quack.

I find this amphibian more often in other states than in my home state of Ohio, and I always enjoys coming across it in the wild.

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Red-spotted Toad

Posted on June 6, 2015 by tspuckler

The Red-spotted Toad of the arid southwestern United States is named for the orange or red spots that are usually scattered on its back, sides and legs.

No two are alike – some have many spots while others have few to none.

This toad is one of the very few amphibians that can be found in the desert throughout most of the year. I see them most often along the edges of creeks and springs.

They have a general body pattern that is flattened. This allows them to crawl beneath rocks and crevices where these nocturnal creatures spend much of the day hiding.

Red-spotted Toads are nimble and climb over, under and around rocks with ease. They are one of our smaller toad species, reaching lengths around 2-1/2 to 3 inches.

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Spring Peeper

Posted on December 13, 2014 by tspuckler

This tiny frog can be heard calling any month of the year in Ohio if conditions are right. This usually means rain and temperatures above freezing. Even in late Fall or Winter it is not unusual for me to hear a lone frog calling when on a hike.

Though an individual can be heard “peeping” at this time of year, this frog’s “claim to fame” is being a harbinger of Spring. Large groups of these amphibians often gather and and call – in some cases producing very loud choruses of sound.

For some, seeing an American Robin is an indication of the coming of Spring. For fans of amphibians, hearing many of these tiny frogs calling indicates that Winter is loosening its icy grip on the landscape. The fact that this little creature functions at low temperatures is amazing to me.

Found in wooded areas and grassy lowlands near ponds and swamps in the central and eastern parts of Canada and the United States, these miniature, well-camouflaged amphibians are rarely seen. But the mid-March crescendo of nighttime calling from males is a sign that warmer days are just around the corner.

Spring Peepers are tan or brown and have at least some ability to change color. They only grow to about 1-1/2 inches and have toe pads for climbing, though they are more at home amid the loose leaves on the forest floor than in trees.

A distinctive “X” on their back is a good indentfication characteristic. This marking accounts for their Latin species name, crucifer, which translates as “one who bears a cross.”

These frogs breed in freshwater ponds or pools and prefers to use waterways where there are no fish. They often use temporary ponds that dry up after their tadpoles have transformed into adult frogs and left the water.

The Spring Peeper mainly eats small insects, including ants, beetles and flies. It will also consume spiders. It is believed that food is chosen more by availability and size than by actual preference for a certain item.

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Blanchard’s Cricket Frog

Posted on October 8, 2013 by tspuckler

Around here these small (about 1 inch), warty-skinned amphibians can be quite common. They are usually brown or grayish with darker banding on their legs and often have a dark triangular mark between the eyes.

The Blanchard’s Cricket Frog is usually found in the open sandy or muddy areas around streams and ponds. They also can utilize temporary water bodies if near permanent water. I usually see them around large puddles.

If startled, they end up hopping into the water. Though unlike most frogs which dive when alarmed, cricket frogs usually get a few feet out into water and then turn back around and head back to the shore.

This tiny frog gets its name because it resembles a cricket while hopping along through the grass.

It has a distinctive breeding call consisting of a rapid series of metallic clicks, similar to the sound made when two pebbles or marbles are tapped together.

Unfortunately this species is declining rapidly across much of its entire range. I am glad to have encountered them on this trip.

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Category Archives: Frogs & Toads

California Red-legged Frog

Sierran Treefrog

Green Treefrog

Woodhouse’s Toad

Dwarf American Toad

Bird-voiced Treefrog

Fowler’s Toad

Red-spotted Toad

Spring Peeper

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog