Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Night of the Peepers


Before playing this video, be sure to crank up the volume on your computer. If you ears are hurting, that is how loud it really is when you're standing at the edge of a vernal pool, only feet away from hundreds of these little male frogs.

I love peepers. Spring peepers, that is. What I find amazing is that they congregate in huge numbers, but then are fairly well obscure the rest of the year, even though there are just as many of them out and about, they just don't all get together and scream for females like they were doing this night. Wow...that was a long sentence.

I'm getting super excited about spring. The salamander and peeper thing does it for me every year, and I'm so glad that we were able to get out. It is too bad that amphibians no longer congregate on the floodplain of the Olentangy at our house- We had to drive about twenty minutes to the outskirts of suburban Columbus to see these creatures.

Today, the ramps are up, and so are the trout lily leaves down by the river. An amazing site. And I checked on the lesser celandine flowers, they are ready to pop open, and probably will tomorrow with more sun. I'll have plenty of pictures of this invasive species, and all the native wildlflowers that grow in Kenney Park, in the next week to two weeks, so stay tuned. I always view this season as a race. Things change so quickly, at least in the botanical world, until about early July, when there is a slight reprieve. So lets all get on this roller coaster that is spring, I hope you enjoy the ride!

Tom

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11 comments:

  1. The ice on our vernal pools is just starting to melt along the edges. We are at least 3-4 weeks behind you here in S. Ontario if you are seeing trout lily leaves. I would like to see salamanders and spring peepers this year. Your video is great. It made the dog jump.

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  2. I love the spring peepers too! Your video is such a treat because when I do hear them at night, I never see them!
    Very nice Tom!

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  3. Beautiful sounds-- and the first time I've seen the little critter who makes it in a long time. As a kid we'd go out to Point Peelee in Canada and I remember them sounding off -- what a heavenly racket!

    I will bookmark your blog-- found you through my Google news feed for "vernal pools" which I am going to design a poster about some day.

    Enjoy this spring day!

    best fishes,

    Timothy

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  4. Awesome video, I know how tiny the peepers are and how difficult they can be to find. The ones I've photographed tend to hind in the marsh grass and I spend a long time trying to discover where they are hiding. It's quite a challenge holding the camera in one hand and a flashlight in the other. I use layers of wax paper on the front of the flash as a diffuser, it last longer than kleenex in the wet conditions.

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  5. Wow...they are definitely loud! Great video. You capture what most of us don't see.

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  6. Tom: I enjoy the sounds of the spring peepers and have heard them several times without actually seeing them. Thanks for taking the time to let them put on a show.

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  7. Ruth, thank you very much, can't wait to see what you find in S. Ontario

    Chris- Thank you, yes, they are hard to spot, but once they become acclimated to the lights, they keep on peepin'!

    Timothy- Thanks for dropping by! Good to have you here.

    John- Excellent tip about the wax paper! I've never thought of that, nor have I read that anywhere. Excellent, I will certainly try this. Fortunately, on this night, I had assistants to hold the flashlights!

    Mary- Thank you.

    Guy- You are welcome. Hiram Ohio was my old peeper stomping ground, and I definitely miss the wetlands of Portage County. There are so many awesome places up your way.

    Tom

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  8. This is super fantastic, Tom! What a great video! We've been hearing peepers since this past weekend. I just love it!

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  9. Between you and Nina at Nature Remains -- I am wondering if I should have moved back to Ohio instead of Oklahoma. Not sure we have these vernal pools and I am jealous.

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  10. Linda- Thanks a bunch.

    T.R.- I bet we could find you something similar- How about spadefoot toad pools?

    Tom

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  11. That's a very neat video - makes me look forward to spring!

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