Vol. 21 Issue 2, Summer 2016 By Kerry Bzdyk Recently a visitor from out of town sat in my backyard as the sun went down and remarked that as dark descended around us, the chorus of frogs increased in volume. It reminded her of an orchestra reaching a crescendo. This frog symphony begins in March […]
USGS Study Confirms U.S. Amphibian Populations Declining at Precipitous Rates Posted: 22 May 2013 01:59 PM PDT CORVALLIS, Ore. — The first-ever estimate of how fast frogs, toads and salamanders in the United States are disappearing from their habitats reveals they are vanishing at an alarming and rapid rate. According to the study released today […]
Discovering Willowsford – March 24, The Grant Field trip report by Donna Quinn It was cold! And the forecast called for snow! But despite the chill and threat of precipitation, 12 hardy adventurers gathered for the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Discovering Willowsford walk in search of signs of early spring. We headed to an area in […]
Attention Homeschoolers, teachers, parents, and curious naturalists! Frog activity will start to stir come the first week or two of March – Here is a great resource to add to use as we head into this season: Hop Into Action. The author, David Alexander, joined us one spring for our amphibian monitoring program kickoff and spring […]
Vol. 17 Issue 12, Winter 2012 by Liam McGranaghan The weather forecast called for heavy rains and warming temperatures in the days ahead. I felt an excited chill along my spine—not just with the hope that the long winter might be ending, but also in anticipation of the “Big Night.” I hurriedly emailed my wife, […]
A Good News Story by Nicole Hamilton It was March 2007 and we had just started our Loudoun Amphibian Monitoring Program. With the excitement of the program launch, people started telling us about special spots where amphibians may live and breed. One of the leads I got was from Liam McGranaghan for an area in […]
Vol. 17 Issue 4, Winter 2012 by Emily Cook If you have ever taken an early spring walk through the woods, perhaps you’ve been fortunate enough to hear the melodious serenade of the Wood Frog chorus. Once temperatures remain consistently above forty degrees, male Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica) emerge from the leafy forest floor to […]
Oh what would Dr. Seuss say! Well, he may have said something like, “I like Green Frogs in our pond, They sing like banjos all day long. I watch them as they hop and play, I see them do this every day!” Ok, I’ll leave the rhyming to Dr.Seuss — but I did want to share […]
Linda Millington, our volunteer coordinator, sent me a funny email about Gray Tree frogs that use her patio umbrella as a place to hide out during the day. Here’s what Linda shared: Every year we have at least two tree frogs that love our umbrellas around the pool. We have large cement bases for the […]
I’m talking about our wood frog tadpoles. Remember back to March 5-10 when the eggs were laid? And then I posted those under water photos of the eggs and newly hatched tadpoles? Well here they are a few weeks later. They won’t really sit still for photos now that they’re bigger, (I guess the camera […]