Tadfrog

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We have a man-made pool on the ledge above the creek specifically to provide a breeding pool for frogs. We know that Southern Leopard (Rana sphenocephala) and Southeastern - formerly Upland Chorus (Pseudacris feriarum) frogs - and Cope’s Gray (Hyla chrysoscelis) treefrogs have been happy(?) customers. I see the eggs and I see the tadpoles. After that I don’t see much – or only rarely. The chorus frogs and the treefrogs leave for parts unknown.

The Southern Leopard frogs stay around but they are very shy. As soon as I walk into the clearing around the pool, I see frogs hop off in all directions: into the undergrowth if they are mature frogs or back into the water – if they’re in the process of losing their tails. Even if I try and sneak into the clearing, they hop off before I get into camera-with-zoom range.

Rarely, very rarely, one makes a mistake. I sneaked into the clearing a week or so ago but, as soon as I got within about 10 feet of a frog, it would hop into the underbrush or back into the pool. I would see them frog-kick their way into the deeper water out of sight. Sigh. On this occasion, a dozen or more desperately hopped back into the water simultaneously.

One poor little fellow, already in the water, was confused by all of this furious activity, felt a need to go in the opposite direction from where it was, and hopped out of the water to land almost at my feet. Always an opportunist, I took complete and shameless advantage of it and got some photographs.

At my feet, right in the middle of the photograph.

A closer view.

A close up. It’s a ranid and although there are two spotted ranids – the Southern Leopard and the Pickerel (Rana palustris) – our consensus is that it is a Southern Leopard frog. It didn’t seem fazed to be out of the water and didn’t panic when I finally persuaded it to head back into the water.
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Identification resources:
Knapp. Frogs and Toads of Georgia
- Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala)
- Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris)

Related post:
- Frogs at the Pool

Frogs At The Pool

A year or so ago, W and J dug a pool on the ledge above the creek to provide still water for frogs to breed. This has been quite successful. We know that Southeastern Chorus frogs (Uplands Chorus frog; Pseudacris feriarum), Southern Leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala), and Cope’s Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) have bred in this pool.

Normally the pool looks like this. The water level is even lower in the middle of summer.

But after 3 inches of rain, it looks like this.

Normally the frogs that gather near the pool jump into the water or into the undergrowth out of sight and I haven’t been able to get any photos.

Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala)

I don’t know whether this young Southern Leopard frog was waterlogged and not thinking straight or whether it simply thought that since it was under cover it couldn’t been seen. Wrong! Admittedly I didn’t get a photo of it when it was in the open but I did get photographic proof that it was a Southern Leopard frog.

Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus)

I was quite surprised to happen upon this Southern Cricket frog (Acris gryllus) that posed for this photo. It is usually quite difficult to get close to a cricket frog but this one allowed me to get a macro shot. Cricket frogs don’t breed at this pool but in shallow water further along the creek so it was a surprise to encounter it here. It is a handsome specimen.

It is interesting that Walton County is not included in the range for the Southern Cricket frog. We should only encounter the Northern Cricket frog (Acris crepitans) here. However, thanks to John Jensen at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for confirming this identification.

Identification resources:
- Frogs and Toads of Georgia: Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala)
- Frogs and Toads of Georgia: Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus)
- Personal communication: John J Jensen, Georgia Department of Natural Resouces
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Southern Leopard Frog: Rana sphenocephala

Moving in or overnight guest?

Last night as we were leaving for dinner, W noticed this Southern Leopard frog sitting on the edge of the whiskey barrel. I had my camera with me and managed to get this shot; it’ s not the greatest but it was taken in low light. When I tried to get closer, the frog slipped gracefully into the water and out of sight.

When we got back, I checked again. There it was, sitting half out of the water. I managed to get much closer and used flash to get a shot. Apparently it felt much safer in the dark. It didn’t move.

When I checked this morning, it didn’t appear to be there. Just an overnight guest, I guess.

Identification resource:
- Frogs and Toads of Georgia: Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala)

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