Okay, bad pun, but it is nice to find a little Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) nestled onto the sill of the screen door. This little guy (or girl? Females are larger than males and this one was quite big.) spent the day there and moved on some time in the night. Gray Treefrogs are noted for the large adhesive pads on the tips of their toes, which are just visible on this individual. They also have notable colour-changing abilitiy, and the same frog may vary from light gray to brown to pale green. Changing colour takes a bit of time, an hour or more, depending on factors such as the temperature. It is not uncommon to come across an occasional representative of the species through the summer, when they are found in deciduous or mixed forests, woodlots, swamps, old fields and even suburban yards with appropriate plant cover and breeding territory nearby. However, the time when Gray Treefrogs really make their presence known is the spring. If you are near a wetland on a spring evening, especially one ringed with willows and dogwood, you are likely to hear the short trills of Gray Treefrogs ringing out into the night.
Just beyond the doorway, American Toads ((Bufo americanus) are common in and around the garden. This was a mid-sized specimen, perhaps a young toad of this year. Toads are regarded as garden helpers as they eat a variety of insects, spiders and slugs. A few days ago, I spied a garter snake making off with a small toad in its mouth. I resisted the urge to try to save the little toad, which we tend to identify with. Snakes need to eat too.
This fine big Green Frog (Rama clamitans) was just outside the front door last Saturday. It didn’t seem bothered by having a photographer leaning over it and had to be encouraged to move into the garden where it was safer. You can clearly see the dorsolateral fold, the ridge of skin that extends from each eye to about one-half to two-thirds of the way down the back, and around the rear of the tympanum. In mature males, the throat is bright yellow, while females have light yellow or cream-coloured throats. This seems to be a female.
One evening when I turned the porch light on, I noticed the individual below sitting on the step. It’s colour doesn’t identify its species as readily as is the case with the amphibians above. Another Green Frog maybe? It does seem to have a green lip.
Willow House Chronicles 