Frogs Calling/Storms Threatening So Nature Nerds Head to Berry Springs

Only one thing that you can see and hear 

that is beautiful and frightening at the same time, 

and that is a thunder storm.

~R.K. Cowles 

Look at this sky. Who knew a storm was 2 hours away. Okay - we knew, but we willed the storm to slow down so we could catch some frogs.

I love this park - you never really know what you will see or hear. The Blanchard's Cricket Frogs started calling hours before sunset. It was a good sign. They would continue to call and give us something to record, discuss, and report.

Some of the Junior Master Naturalists are members of a scout group that was camping this weekend. They asked if some of the campers who had arrived early could join us for the watch. It worked out fine as both groups were small and we had adult/youth ratio of 1 to 1. [What a great bunch of young people! What an involved group of parents! They were all amazing, enthusiastic, and fun!]

There were nets and buckets enough for everyone to be tasked with frogging equipment. One youngster was concerned about the snakes and I assured him that we probably won't see any dangerous snakes. I added that I'm against catching snakes - that we just photograph and move along. He continued with us and was very successful in discovering a busy spider at the dock.

A Red-Shouldered Hawk flew over, landed in a tree, and stayed long enough for my usual bad cell phone photo. A Great Egret also flew over as did three Yellow-crowned Night Herons. The resident Great Blue Heron was feeding at the pond as well. What a different experience a spring trip to the park is!*

We heard a chorus of Blanchard's Cricket Frogs, a Green Tree Frog, and a Rio Grande Leopard Frog. We caught and photographed a leopard frog and a Gulf Coast Toad. We missed a few frogs because of over-enthusiasm I'm afraid. But the frog seekers quickly calmed down and found success.

As the groups were out and walking the banks of the pond, we watched lightning approaching with a cold front. The decision was made to "call time" on the field trip - successful even though cut short. Most of the team (except us) made it home before the storm broke.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Checking the pond bank.

We had just missed our first frog - it hopped into the pond. Fortunately, none of the team followed it in.

Great Blue Heron at the pond.

The flashlights are much more impressive as it gets dark.

A nice sized Rio Grande Leopard Frog

A male Gulf Coast Toad

There seemed to be little reluctance to catch and/or touch the frogs and toads.

Over half the trip home was through hard rain/hail.

Not a pretty storm, but quickly passed over.

NOTES:

* Our last trip with this group was in October. It was not a good time for frogs (or anything else except Gulf Coast Toads and the heron).

http://walkinthepark-padimus.blogspot.com/2017/10/toads-bats-and-bunnies.html [This post is a little confessional, but then I try to tell the truth!]

***********************SPIDER WARNING**************************

We saw a couple of spiders. This was the most impressive.

IT WAS A BIG SPIDER.