The Great Germantown Frog Hunt

I may never learn what kind of frogs we saw the other night.  I do know that they probably weren’t Spring peepers. 

My 10-year-old son loves frogs.  So when I spied a tiny Kermit on our front door, I had to drag him out of bed.  It was around 10 p.m., just after a drenching rain had flattened most of the vegetation in my garden.  I handed my son the flashlight and we tromped through the sopping yard in tandem.  As soon as we spotted our quarry, we passed the flashlight back and forth, swinging the beam in random directions like a couple of crazed prowlers.

Teeny frogs were out in force, each the size of a thumbnail.  They clung to the screen door, the siding, the bicycle left in the rain.  We attempted to catch one after another, but those little frogs were fast.  They easily outwitted us, darting under bushes and grass. 

I assumed that the frogs were Spring peepers because I know that they are common near .  In terms of size, these little guys definitely fit the bill.

But when I told the naturalist at about our find, she gave me a skeptical look.  Apparently, this is the wrong time of year for an invasion of Spring peepers.  They live up to their name and are usually seen in the spring.  My son and I might have seen a different species of very young frogs — froglets, as they are called — or we might have even found toads. 

The Locust Grove naturalist provided me with handwritten suggestions of other species to consider — Gray treefrog, American bullfrog, Green frog, Wood frog, American toad, and Fowler’s toad.  I look the list home and stared at it.  How could I narrow it down?  

When I called for help, assistant supervisor Melinda Norton told me that frogs are very seasonal.  People tend to see frogs and toads when the animals are beginning their yearly mating process.

“Spring peepers and Wood frogs mate first,” said Norton.  “They can fit on the head of a nickel.”  Later in the year, when it is warmer out, Green frogs and bullfrogs are common.  “Gray treefrogs are mating right now,” she added.

To identify a species of frog, Norton suggested three steps.  First, learn which types of frogs are likely to have been in your area during the time of the sighting.  Next, note the size of the frog.  Finally, examine the frog’s coloration and markings.  Spring peepers, for example, have a large “X” across their backs.

I asked Norton about identifying species by frog call, but she said that you don’t often hear individual frogs sing.  

“Only the males sing.  Females are silent,” said Norton.  “The call is their mating call.  “It’s the male saying to the female, ‘Come to the pond to lay eggs.’”

If you’d like to attract toads and frogs to your yard, Norton suggested placing a toad house in a shady place. 

“They really do work,” Norton said.  “Toads are a forest animal, but they need to stay moist.”  A toad house will keep the animal cool during the heat of the day.  You’ll need to include a small dish of water to keep the animal’s skin wet.

“[Toads] absorb all of the water that they need through their stomachs,” said Norton.  “They will lay in the water.  They’re sort of like sponges.”  Since these animals have porous skin, be sure to wash your hands before (and after) handling them.  Lotions and sun block can harm amphibians. 

As my son and I found out, wet nights are the best time to find a frog or toad in your yard.  When the world is moist, these animals can wander freely without drying out.

Norton suggested that I check the online Field Guide to Maryland's Frogs and Toads for more information.  Based upon her three steps of frog identification, I think that the animals we saw the other night were Gray treefrogs.  But we won’t know for sure until the next big rain, when my son and I can go on another frog hunt.