11 replies to this topic

[T.C.]

So, the past week or two, life is really starting to come back here in the tundra. The first video and the second video were taken three days apart. Notice how loud the second one is compared to the first. Absolutely crazyz! These frogs are loud as heck! It actually kind of rings in your ears.

Edited by T.C., March 31 2017 - 7:38 PM.

[dspdrew]

That's crazy.

[Tgrmag]

Amazing, I miss all those sounds and walking around at night.

[T.C.]

It was pretty crazy. But what was even crazier was my brother was hauling some stuff out of his storage shed yesterday. When he drove by the swamp area there happened to be a bear standing in the spot I took that recording.

[noebl1]

I'm looking forward to this here too as it warms up over the next few weeks.  We've got a fairly large vernal pool (about 1 acre) at the front side of our property that fills up thru the winter, then drains slowly until mostly dry by mid-summer (last year actually went totally dry from the drought.)  The Spring Peepers, Grey Tree Frogs. Wood Frogs, and some Leopard frogs breed there and it's majorly loud from April thru early June.  When the previous owners moved out, they were saying its' one of the things they really miss about this place.

 

Last Spring was quite a bit warmer (this is has been a cold/wet Spring), and found a Yellow Spotted Salamander (mole family) on March 10th last year heading down to the vernal pool to breed:

 

 

 

Right now it's covered from fresh snow from the storm Friday into Saturday. Amazing how different the weather can be year to year.

Edited by noebl1, April 2 2017 - 9:41 AM.

[T.C.]

Yeah, I occasionally see salamanders around here. Found this one early fall last year.

[noebl1]

In the Spring I find when they are coming up from hibernation and looking to mate, they are easier to find on warm misty nights.  Often for a few weeks hiding under anything from large pots to piles of leaves (not happy with they are lead blowed...)  The yellow spotted ones I think are the largest ones we have up here in New England (not often seen as nocturnal and usually living in burrows).  We have *millions* of the small red backed salamanders here.  

 

Really worried that this year there won't be as many frogs or salamanders.  The drought last year was pretty bad, and the vernal pool dried up pretty quickly (not sure it even made it to Summer.)  Loads of tadpoles flopping around in the small mud puddle in a deep spot by the culvert before it totally dried it.  The grey tree frogs laid eggs in a large tub I put small fish and plants in during the summer, however couldn't do fish last year as pretty certain it contained a good portion of the local amphibian tadpole population in it

 

Man this thread is making me wish for Spring to finally hit.

Edited by noebl1, April 2 2017 - 12:05 PM.

[Nathant2131]

Mmm, lots of Redbacks up here for sure.

 

I found a two-lined once in my yard.

Edited by Nathant2131, April 2 2017 - 12:09 PM.

[MichiganAnts]

lots of frogs, turtles, and even gardner snakes are out and about here in Michigan

[T.C.]

After the frogs are done with their breeding, no joke hundreds come and sit in the roads. (Leopard frogs) Your driving down the back roads and they are jumping everywhere. I actually spoke with a DNR officer about it one day when I was out and about. He said they do it because of the warmth of the pavement, which makes sense.

And Yeah, the swampy areas dry up here every few years. Fish and tadpoles flopping around, and abandoned baby ducks just running around In the open. Unfortunate but the crows and raccoons eat well. Nothing you can really do for the tadpoles or fish, but I usually try to catch the baby ducks before the crows do. We turn them over to a department of the DNR and they raise them to adults and let them go.

[MichiganAnts]

After the frogs are done with their breeding, no joke hundreds come and sit in the roads. (Leopard frogs) Your driving down the back roads and they are jumping everywhere. I actually spoke with a DNR officer about it one day when I was out and about. He said they do it because of the warmth of the pavement, which makes sense.

And Yeah, the swampy areas dry up here every few years. Fish and tadpoles flopping around, and abandoned baby ducks just running around In the open. Unfortunate but the crows and raccoons eat well. Nothing you can really do for the tadpoles or fish, but I usually try to catch the baby ducks before the crows do. We turn them over to a department of the DNR and they raise them to adults and let them go.

yea my swamp has about a 60/40 chance of totally drying up and becoming a mud puddle. 

[noebl1]

Wow, ok, a bit envious about your weather already  We got a tease here as in March hit 70F a couple times and we thought we were in for Spring.  Not long after record lows and several snow storms, including one that dropped over a foot.  At least the one Fri into Sat (which was predicted 12-18" at one point), we only got 2-4" of very very heavy wet snow.

 

We don't get often crazy frog migrations over the streets (though occasionally on the warm Spring nights they migrate across roads), but we do often in the summer have large amounts of grey tree frogs show up.  Right after they finally emerge from the ponds, they are *EVERYWHERE* for a few days.  Can't move a plant without seeing at least one; guessing the raccoons and fox eat quite well for a few days.