Music to my ears. We came home from practice and we opened the car doors, and there it was. The night music of trilling amphibians.
A sound that was eerily absent most of last year due to the extreme drought. Today it got to 82 degrees, which is unseasonably warm for this part of the season. Many of the trees are in midbloom now, mostly peaches, and the pear tree blooms are almost spent. Red Buds are starting to swell and their blooms should be opening in a day or two. Henbit, spring beauties, and violets are everywhere.
Dandelions are slow this year. I think that the drought might have actually knocked them down a bit.
At some point this week, weather permitting, we will be out at dusk to see if we can visually identify which critters are out and about.
Soon we should also be seeing/hearing Grey Tree Frogs and Narrow Mouthed Toads.
Listen to Woodhouse toads call here:
http://www.youtube.com/...
As you listen, you will notice they have a unique trill that almost sounds like a baby screaming. There have been times when this was the loudest sound out there over even the catydids.
This is a video of Western Chorus Frog
http://www.youtube.com/...
Right now this is the most prevalent call at the moment.
Listen to this Grey Tree Frog call
http://www.youtube.com/...
These guys are really cool little critters. They can change color like a chameleon. So sometimes they are a neutral beige or grey and other times they are a mint green. They have the most beautiful copper colored eyes.
Tonight when we heard these calls, we got in the car and drove around to try and listen and determine where these calls are originating.
I would point out that if you have chickens, those chickens will eat any toads or frogs they can catch. I am tempted to fence part of the yard off from the chickens to maybe make a safe area for the frogs and toads. To chickens, a toad or frog is just a big, meaty grasshopper.
Wed Mar 14, 2012 at 5:53 AM PT: Last night the temperature was 48 degrees. That is very very warm for this time of the year. I hope this is not a sign of things to come, regarding night time temps in the summer.
Last summer we had nights that stayed in the high 90s.