Compiled by Nancy Brannon
Since early February, the “frog chorus” at our farm has started and, I expect, will move to its full crescendo this month. Every year I enjoy hearing the spring peepers and the variety of other frogs who begin their yearly mating ritual – “calling all girl frogs” – in the vernal pools around the farm. The swimming pool cover is a particularly popular hang out. Each year I have high hopes that all those eggs will develop into tadpoles and then into the frogs that will be the new year’s flycatchers. They make a delightful chorus, with their symphonic range of voices from deep bass to high pitched tenor. While we humans generally tend to dislike all the rain we’ve had this winter, it’s “frog heaven” weather to our amphibian friends.
News from Strawberry Plains Audubon Center:
“With each day’s progress, the sunlight lengthens and the landscape shifts, both below and above ground. Under the cloak of many frigid nights, there’s been a rustling amongst the forest floor, as Spotted Salamanders depart from underground, taking their annual pilgrimage to breed in the vernal ponds created by winter's rain. The late mornings’ rising sun is met with a stirring cacophony of chatter, the calls of Spring Peepers and Chorus Frogs creating a staccato of discourse between the sweet songs of White-throated Sparrows, the honks and prattle of Nuthatches, Junco, and Titmice. The broad, bright afternoon sunsets draw sharp contrasts upon greening grounds, where faint hues of purple peek through the leaf litter, the showy petals of Spring Beauty, Henbit, and Bluet. As light wanes upon the desiccated grasses and forbs of the meadows, the buzzy, nasal “peent” of male American Woodcocks fills the air, alternated with ‘twittering’, melodic chirps as they zigzag downward from the apex of aerial courtship displays upon the darkening horizon.”
Find out about the Naturalist course and other March events at SPAC at: https://strawberry.audubon.org
The Audubon Photography Awards competition is now open for entries. To be inspired, take a look at the 2019 award winners at: https://www.audubon.org/news/12-fascinating-bird-behaviors-2019-audubon-photography-awards
Find more information on how to enter the 2020 photography contest at: https://www.audubon.org/photoawards-entry
Since early February, the “frog chorus” at our farm has started and, I expect, will move to its full crescendo this month. Every year I enjoy hearing the spring peepers and the variety of other frogs who begin their yearly mating ritual – “calling all girl frogs” – in the vernal pools around the farm. The swimming pool cover is a particularly popular hang out. Each year I have high hopes that all those eggs will develop into tadpoles and then into the frogs that will be the new year’s flycatchers. They make a delightful chorus, with their symphonic range of voices from deep bass to high pitched tenor. While we humans generally tend to dislike all the rain we’ve had this winter, it’s “frog heaven” weather to our amphibian friends.
News from Strawberry Plains Audubon Center:
“With each day’s progress, the sunlight lengthens and the landscape shifts, both below and above ground. Under the cloak of many frigid nights, there’s been a rustling amongst the forest floor, as Spotted Salamanders depart from underground, taking their annual pilgrimage to breed in the vernal ponds created by winter's rain. The late mornings’ rising sun is met with a stirring cacophony of chatter, the calls of Spring Peepers and Chorus Frogs creating a staccato of discourse between the sweet songs of White-throated Sparrows, the honks and prattle of Nuthatches, Junco, and Titmice. The broad, bright afternoon sunsets draw sharp contrasts upon greening grounds, where faint hues of purple peek through the leaf litter, the showy petals of Spring Beauty, Henbit, and Bluet. As light wanes upon the desiccated grasses and forbs of the meadows, the buzzy, nasal “peent” of male American Woodcocks fills the air, alternated with ‘twittering’, melodic chirps as they zigzag downward from the apex of aerial courtship displays upon the darkening horizon.”
Find out about the Naturalist course and other March events at SPAC at: https://strawberry.audubon.org
The Audubon Photography Awards competition is now open for entries. To be inspired, take a look at the 2019 award winners at: https://www.audubon.org/news/12-fascinating-bird-behaviors-2019-audubon-photography-awards
Find more information on how to enter the 2020 photography contest at: https://www.audubon.org/photoawards-entry
