Mood: chillin'
Topic: Out in the Field
On May 3rd, it was the first annual Record a Ribbit www.nwf.org/ribbit , a wonderful effort by FrogWatch USA to get people out and listening to Frogs and Toads in their community and give them a taste of what FrogWatch is all about. Here are the highlights from across the US:
Record the Ribbit Highlights:
- Over 223 people participated in the event.
- Top 5 states with the most participants: Texas, New York, Indiana, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
- Total of 235 frogs and toads heard (26 different species).
- Most popular species heard: Spring Peeper, American Bullfrog, Green Frog, American Toad.
Locally, the Central Indiana FrogWatchers had a small gathering at the Old Walmart Pond in Frankfort. A total of five people showed up, which was much more than the total number of frogs calling that evening, which was a big fat zero. We did see several species of birds, a Canada Goose nest recently mowed over and abandoned. The wind was very strong and very chilly compared to the recent warm streak in the 80s we had just experienced. The temp was 48 and no frogs were calling. We did see a ranidae swimming under water, it was too far out to see dorsolateral folds so it was either a bullfrog or green frog. We also saw many toad tadpoles, I'm going to say American, since I have not heard any Fowler's calling in the area yet. While it was not at all what I had hoped for, it was fun. We even had a visit from the Police. The officer asked what we were doing. When I explained FrogWatch USA to him and why we doing it, he said with an excuse like that, we couldn't be up to anything illegal. I offered him a brocure for his scrapbook, but he declined and told us to have a good night. Its good to see that the pond is looked after by others than just FrogWatchers.