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January Astronomy 2010
This article was contributed by Jerry Truitt.
To observe the night sky with a telescope you need a dark location with out street lights or cities near you. This takes me
frequently to remote locations, out of the way and in the wild of nature.
One of the things I really enjoy about the astronomy club I belong to The Delmarva Stargazers, is their philosophy of
respect for nature. We frequently have presentations about the nature around us, not just about stars, galaxies and other
astronomy stuff. So I would like to share one of those presentations given to us by the Aquartic Resource Center which is part of
Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife. They are based at the Mallard Lodge in Smyrna Delaware which is also where we hold our club
meetings each month.
You might not be thinking about frogs on a January night but you'll be surprised how early some of our amphibious friends
bred. What I would like to do in this month's column is introduce you to some of the frogs of our area, their breeding
habits and what they sound like at night. It is much more enjoyable when you are out at night and are able to recognize
who is making the sounds, makes no difference if you're observing the stars or just sitting on your porch.
Different frogs call at different times of year. Some frogs start calling as early as February, this allows them to have
less competition and a lesser chance of predation by larger tadpoles.
One of the main stays of our area is the Vernal Pools, or you may refer to them as mosquito breeding grounds. Vernal pools,
or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. One of the attractants for frogs is they are usually devoid of fish, and
thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species(mosquito). The word vernal's meaning is relating to
or occurring in spring.
These pools fill with water from spring melts and rain but are dry for at least part of the year, although some pools
may remain filled for a year or more, at some point in time they dry up to ensure the absence of fish. Let's see what we might
find in these pools and listen to their call.
Click on the name of the frog or toad to hear its call.
| Vernal Pools |
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| Spring Peeper |
Eastern Cricket Frog |
New Jersey Chorus Frog | |
| Starts calling mid-February through May. Males can be heard calling well into the summer but they are not breeding at this point. |
Starts calling Early March, with peak calling occurring in May or June |
Starts calling mid-February, with peak calling occurring from early March to May |
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| Barking Tree Frog |
Copes Gray Tree Frog |
Gray Tree Frog |
| Starts calling late April through July. These guys can be hard to see but they are loud and we have them in Elk Forest. |
Starts calling mid-April, with peak calling occurring from early May to late June. |
| Permanent Ponds |
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| Green Frog |
Bull Frog |
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| Starts calling late April extending well into the summer |
Starts calling late spring through mid-summer |
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| Anywhere even Ditches! |
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| Eastern American Toad |
Eastern American Toad |
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| Starts calling mid-March |
Starts calling mid-April, usually after Eastern American Toad is finished calling. I always have a couple of these guys in my front garden. |
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The Eastern Shore has more diversity in frogs than the Everglades- they have 12 species, the Eastern shore has 16 frog species total.
Of the 16, 14 species can be heard calling form our area.
So now when you're out at night star gazing or just relaxing on the deck, make sure to keep your ears open for the sounds of the frogs and toads!
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