Michael Powell and I were searching for the elusive Springtime Darner dragonfly (Basiaeschna janata) during a photowalk at Huntley Meadows Park on 15 April 2016. (By the way, we found one later the same day!)
As we were walking along a thorny thicket of greenbrier (Smilax sp.), I noticed a frog-let/toad-let — my term for small frogs and toads that are seen commonly in the wetlands at the park, especially during spring. The individual shown in the following photos is an inch or less in length!
My first thought is usually, “Oh, it’s just a frog-/toad-let. Nothing to see here. Move along.” Good thing I decided to take a closer look. Turns out the frog-/toad-let is a Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer), as indicated by the dark “X” on the frog’s dorsal side.
These photos were years in the making. Huh? I have been a frequent visitor at Huntley Meadows Park for over 30 years. Every spring, the sound of male Spring Peepers calling for mates is deafening. You hear them, but you never see them, that is, until this year when I spotted my first ever Spring Peeper!
I spotted the first peeper; Mike spotted a second peeper while we were photographing the first one. The peeper shown in this photo set is actually the second one we saw; photos of the first peeper will be published in a follow-up post.
Related Resource: Spring Peeper, by Mike Powell.
Copyright © 2016 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Barnyard Run, Huntley Meadows Park, Pseudacris crucifer, Spring Peeper, wildlife photography
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December 28, 2016 at 4:02 am |
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