Tree frogs: loving this Kansas spring.

[mckitterick]

The tree frogs in the back yard are DEAFENING. Wow, what a crop this year! When I first heard them, just a few years ago, I thought they were some kind of mega-voiced insect. But as they grew more vocal, I though no way could a single bug make that much sound.



A couple of years ago, I happened to be talking with a herpetologist who asked me to make the sound (which I only barely can, a super-fast high-pitched warble), and he declared it a tree frog. Apparently, they can go through their entire egg-tadpole-legged life cycle in 24 hours, given nice deep rain puddles. Viola! Frogs inland from water, like charming, noisy mosquitoes. They might wake me, but I much prefer them to their winged counterparts.

Chris

Comments

[carmy-w.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. I don't think we have any of those down here in the sandhills....
But I'd prefer them to mosquitoes any day of the week!

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

They are way charming! And seemingly invisible.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

My yard on Rawhide Ln in lawrence had many garden toads.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Just as cute but not so noisy!

[shelly-rae.livejournal.com]

Tree frogs are some of the loudest creatures on earth--more so when you equalize their size/volume ratio.

I think it was Richard Brautigan in a Confederate General in Big Sur who, with a friend, figured out that shouting "Campbell's Soup," at the noisy frogs quieted them for the longest time. Sort of. Or I could be making that up.
I like the pretty noisy creatures.
Anon

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

They sure as heck are! It's astounding that such a tiny critter can make ALL THAT SOUND.

I'll try Campbell's Soup next time I have a cookout and they're drowning out the conversation.

(I like them too.)

[chalcedonygrey.livejournal.com]

Oh! I miss the sounds of nature! All I get are trains, traffic, and emergency vehicles. [sad]

When I lived in the country, the peeper frogs were one of my favorite noises (believe it or not, I also like cicadas). I miss toads the most, though. They're my absolute favorite herps. Every time I see one, I swoop it up and give it a kiss.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

I like cicadas, too, though I have been known to complain about them on occasions when I can't even hear myself think.

Toads are so pitiful and cute! When I lived in an ancient house in Wisconsin, I was cleaning up the basement one day. The sandstone walls had shed drifts of sand onto the floor over the decades, and when I shoveled up one portion, I found a pair of toads hibernating on the bottom. How long had they been there? Years? Generations? They were dessicated but, after dropping them into the damp side of a terrarium (a shallow aquarium, really), they plumped up and started swimming!

Whoah. Cool beans. I kept them for years until I moved away, releasing them into the wild to live for perhaps another 100 years.

[chalcedonygrey.livejournal.com]

=0.o= That's spectacular!

When I was in HS I had all kinds of pets that I released in the fall... snakes, turtles, skinks, etc. The salamanders were the best - they were incredibly mellow and didn't mind being held. I had baby skunks once, and a baby raccoon (man, bottle feeding every 2 hours sucks). Ohhhh n o s t a l g i a!

[siro-gravity.livejournal.com]

mmmmmmm, DINNER!
oh, the froggie is so cute! I really love frogs...used to catch 'em when I was a tyke.