The Daily Bucket
is a nature refuge.
We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and such, and note life’s patterns spinning around us.
Phenology is how we take earth’s pulse.
The Bucket is a place to discuss what you see.
Each note links our surroundings to life’s cycles, and adds to our understanding. Please comment about your own natural area, and include photos if possible. We love photos!
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Every evening, a half-dozen chorus frogs still ribbet in the Frog Mitigation Area. I’ve been scrutinizing the two ponds’ foot-deep waters at night with a powerful flashlight that illuminates the murky waters right to the bottom, so I am getting accurate counts for frog attendance and egg sac production.
The other night at dusk, I photographed two male frogs already positioned, awaiting mates, � in the densest pond plants, before the festivities began, including the frog in the picture above.
Chorus frogs have chameleon-like abilities to change their colors. The first pictured frog’s camo-like markings are fairly common.
However, the next pictured frog features unique coloring.
I identified two Brown Stripes, and six Camo Frogs among the eight frogs there a few days ago.
The flashlight’s beam vividly spotlights egg sacs.
Some plants in the older pond have egg sacs on every branch. I was encouraged to see multiple egg sacs attached to the Wapato plants. Frog literature did not always list the Wapato (aka Arrowhead) as a favored egg sac repository.
I was wondering why the frogs’ life cycle survival rate would go from 2400 eggs to only about 100 tadpoles. Two nights ago I found one reason; a bullfrog in the larger pond 50 feet from the FMA. Nonnative Bullfrogs are voracious eaters, and essentially wiped out the native chorus frogs in the two larger ponds in my back yard. The bullfrog was only a hop, skip, and jump from the FMA.
And last night, the raccoon came through. It stirred up mud and scattered duckweed in the FMA, knocked the slabs off of the underwater pump house, and toppled one of the bricks that blocked assess to under our porch. I don’t know if the coon killed any chorus frogs, but I didn’t find any chorus frog remains. There was only one frog ribbeting there last night, and just six the night before, so losses were relatively small in any event.
I fear some of the egg sacs may be collateral damage from the coon raking through the plants where the sacs are attached. Algae is growing on the sacs, making them harder to spot.
I did find the bullfrog again this morning. Well, I found half of the bullfrog. (not pictured)
The raccoon giveth, and the raccoon taketh away.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
What have you noted in your area or travels? As usual, please post your observations and general location in your comments. I’ll respond in between working on an endless list of flood control projects.
Be sure to peruse Meteor Blade’s valuable "Spotlight on Green News & Views,” every Saturday at 5pm Pacific Time and every Wednesday at 3:30 Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page. Please recommend and comment in the diary.