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frogs

Little Loudmouths: Small Animals That Create Big Sounds

May 28, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

bullfrog courtesy Wikimedia user Carl D. HoweFrom early spring through late summer, the air trills and croaks and buzzes and chirps with the sounds of nature’s little loudmouths. Mornings are full of birdsong; evenings are the domain of frogs and crickets.

How do such little animals make so much noise? Let’s find out by looking at some of the sound-per-pound champions you can find in our forests. [Read more…] about Little Loudmouths: Small Animals That Create Big Sounds

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: amphibians, birds, frogs, insects, nature, Wildlife

Sounds of Spring: The Wood Frog

April 15, 2022 by Tom Kalinowski Leave a Comment

wood frog courtesy Wikimedia user GodGnipaelThe awakening of the many forms of life that passed the winter in a deeply dormant state begins with the melting of the snow, the retreating of the ice sheet covering our waterways, and the thawing of the soil.

Because of fundamental physiological differences among the species and the various preferences that each creature has for a wintering site, some animals are quicker to respond to the onset of favorable spring conditions than others.

In the forested regions of New York, the wood frog is among the first to return to an active state and announce with a distinct chorus of voices that spring has come. [Read more…] about Sounds of Spring: The Wood Frog

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: amphibians, frogs, nature, Spring, Wildlife

Volunteers Preparing for Annual Salamander, Frog Migration

March 12, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Annual Salamander and Frog Migration volunteers courtesy DECThroughout the Hudson Valley, community volunteers are getting out their flashlights, reflective vests, and rain gear in anticipation of annual amphibian breeding migrations, which typically begin in mid-March. Volunteers will document the migration and help salamanders and frogs as part of DEC’s Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project. [Read more…] about Volunteers Preparing for Annual Salamander, Frog Migration

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature Tagged With: amphibians, DEC, frogs, Hudson River Estuary Program, Hudson Valley, nature, Transportation, Wildlife

Slugs: Slimy, Slow, and Esurient

July 31, 2021 by Tom Kalinowski 2 Comments

slug courtesy Ellen RathboneThe arrival of cooler nights with some valley fog and heavy dew creates favorable conditions for many creatures that require excessive dampness. Among those forms of life that function best in moisture laden surroundings are the slugs, a collection of invertebrates known for their slimy, unappealing appearance, incredibly slow rate of travel, and ability to wreak havoc in gardens. [Read more…] about Slugs: Slimy, Slow, and Esurient

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: frogs, gardening, nature, Wildlife

Critter Crossings: Amphibians In Spring

May 13, 2021 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

There’s a myth environmental educators like to tell, and it goes something like this: after every long northern winter, spring returns. Days lengthen, temperatures rise, the snowpack slowly disappears, and one afternoon, it begins to rain – a soaking, 45-degree rain that continues well into the night. [Read more…] about Critter Crossings: Amphibians In Spring

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: amphibians, frogs, nature, Transportation, Wildlife, Wildways

Winter Brumation Sweeps Across Northern Latitudes

October 30, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

American Bullfrog courtesy Kabir BakieI have all the respect in the world for science, and those who practice its various disciplines, but scientists are not exempt from getting drawn into petty battles over whose ideas should prevail. I’m told there was a long-simmering dispute, apparently resolved for the moment, over how to define hibernation. The consensus now is that any critter able to actively slow its metabolism is a hibernator. Actively slowing down sounds like an oxymoron, but let’s not resort to name-calling. [Read more…] about Winter Brumation Sweeps Across Northern Latitudes

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: frogs, nature, Science, Wildlife, winter

What’s That Sound? Fall Peepers

September 23, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

tos peepersWe like to think that everything in nature has its own particular time and place. But nature is fond of throwing us curves. As a naturalist, a common question I’m asked during foliage season is, “why are spring peepers calling in my woods at this time of year?” [Read more…] about What’s That Sound? Fall Peepers

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: amphibians, frogs, nature, wetlands, Wildlife

Amphibians Aglow: Biofluorescence On Show

August 22, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_AmphibiansAglowThe living light of bioluminescent organisms like fireflies, anglerfish, and marine plankton is legendary.

The dazzling light shows put on by synchronous fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are so popular that park managers have had to institute a lottery system for viewing them.

An entire recreation industry has grown up around kayaking through glowing surf from Florida to Washington.

And a few years ago, I even saw someone dressed as a deep-sea anglerfish at a Halloween concert – complete with glowstick lure dangling from her forehead. [Read more…] about Amphibians Aglow: Biofluorescence On Show

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: amphibians, frogs, nature, Science, Wildlife

Outside Story: Life In A Swamp

July 25, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Swamp Lungwort by Adelaide TyrolThere was a sucking sound as my rubber boot sank into the deep black muck. Naturalist Jon Binhammer and I were standing in the middle of a hardwood swamp in central Vermont.

Above us, dainty red flowers clung to the still-bare branches of red maple trees and fat black buds encircled the stems of black ash. Though the trees in the surrounding uplands had leafed out, the swamp was cooler, and these trees had not yet unfurled their leaves.

Bright yellow blooms of marsh marigold covered the swamp’s floor, growing out of mud and pools of water. Speckled alder shrubs, named for their spotted stems, were scattered about. In the distance we heard the “kuk-kuk-kuk” of a pileated woodpecker and the “toolili” of a blue jay. [Read more…] about Outside Story: Life In A Swamp

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: birding, birds, frogs, nature, waterfowl, Wildlife, woodpeckers

What’s That Sound? The Gray Tree Frog

June 7, 2020 by Tom Kalinowski 6 Comments

Gray Tree FrogSpring is a season when the greatest abundance of natural sounds echo across the landscape. During the day, birds are primarily responsible for the variety of musical calls; however as darkness approaches, especially when the weather is mild, the voices of amphibians produce our most captivating sounds. [Read more…] about What’s That Sound? The Gray Tree Frog

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: amphibians, frogs, nature, Wildlife

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