Berry Springs Amphibian Watch

By Amy Finn

Seriously, doesn’t the name sound like something you want to do? Doesn’t it take you back to wading in the creek or drainage ditch to catch frogs, turtles, and other critters or sitting at the edge of a pond listening to night sounds – a symphony of croakers?

You might have been unaware that there are armies of volunteers across the country checking on the health of amphibians in creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes. What do they do? They go out to designated sites – listen/record and catch/measure/photograph/release frogs (and other amphibians).

Mike and I joined that “army” of volunteers recently as we investigate opportunities for volunteer work for our Master Naturalist certification. Randy and Sandra Spurlock, also members of our MN class, had participated in a local amphibian watch last month and LOVED it. They shared photos and video (an enormous bullfrog and a tiny green tree frog)

We were in.

Kathy McCormack (whose energy and enthusiasm are infectious), a Texas Master Naturalist and project leader for Berry Springs Park, met us near the wildflower meadow. We joined the Spurlocks, Rusty Yarborough, Tonja Hamel (all from our class) and two others just before sundown and we walked along the marshy waterways in the park – looking and listening.

 There are guidelines for how to report: Did you see or hear (or both) the frog? What is the call index value (how much, how long, overlap)? And there are other rules – like if you are wearing insect repellent – you may not touch the frog.

 

 

We carried the tools of the amphibian watcher – nets, buckets, thermometers, microphones, clipboard with reporting form, flashlights (LOTS of flashlights), more than a few pairs of binoculars, and cell phones.

Many in our group were experienced birders, identifying what we saw – the Bluebirds and Yellow-crowned Night-herons – and discussing others. All have broad interests – scorpions (none tonight), spiders, insects, and plants. People were generous, pointing out the creatures they observed and holding the light “just so” for photographs.

Quote of the night? Addressing the bullfrog Kathy commented, “You’re lucky we’re not herons.”

The Lists:

We saw:
Bluebirds
2 bats
2 Yellow-crowned Night-herons
3 Rio Grande leopard frogs
1 Bullfrog
3 Gulf Coast toads (“Who knew that’s what they are called?” says the girl from the gulf coast)
2 spiders
A few turtles
2 snakes

Many squirrels
Hundreds of fireflies, dragonflies and damselflies
A critical mass of Boy Scouts camping in the park

We heard:
Rio Grande leopard frogs
Cricket frogs
bats (really-there is piece of equipment that picks-up and amplifies the sounds of bats!)
Yellow-crowned Night-heron (THAT is a scary cry)
One squirrel making short-work of a pecan (we were attracted by the “crunching”)

Resources:

http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/amphibian_watch/amphibian_species/

https://www.aza.org/frogwatch

http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/herps-of-texas