One of the loveliest things about having our large pond in our backyard is the wildlife it attracts. John built it mostly for aesthetic purposes, and because the waterfall brings peace to the soul, but we never thought about the critters we would see because of it.
The summer brings dragonflies and bumble bees. The cobalt blue dragonflies love to flit on the water and the water lillies in the heat of the day. The bumble bees come by at dusk, walking up to the edge of the water on the river rocks. Too, the gold finches are frequently seen catching a drink from the waterfall, and just yesterday we had our first pair of mourning doves.
There's one creature though that makes himself very well known. We don't see him so much, as we HEAR him. Glo has named him "Mr. Man Frog".
We first heard him last year. He begins trilling around 8 p.m. (at dusk), and he doesn't stop until almost sunrise (usually around 4 a.m.). He's calling for girls, and believe me, he's persistent. In fact, he's so loud and so driven, we are forced to close the windows between our family room and the pond each night. And this isn't a seasonal thing--he goes all summer long.
Here's what he sounds like (although this isn't our friend)
Trying to identify him, we caught a few pictures of him and matched his trilling to some mating calls we found online. Turns out he isn't our delightful little green frog who lives in the grass at the edge of the pond.
He's a toad. An American Toad.
And he's a big boy!
Although we would prefer to be the nesting habitat for frog eggs, turns out the toads like our pond too. In fact, two nights ago I paused "Dancing with the Stars" (which was turned up several decibels to cover the mating calls) to discover that there were at least four male toads out singing around the pond. And they don't stop. In fact, the sun isn't even down over the mountain as I write this, and I can hear "Mr. Man Toad" out calling for his ladies :-)
Mr. Man Toad can stay. If I see any deer sidling up to the pond, they'll be deer jerky within seconds...
The summer brings dragonflies and bumble bees. The cobalt blue dragonflies love to flit on the water and the water lillies in the heat of the day. The bumble bees come by at dusk, walking up to the edge of the water on the river rocks. Too, the gold finches are frequently seen catching a drink from the waterfall, and just yesterday we had our first pair of mourning doves.
There's one creature though that makes himself very well known. We don't see him so much, as we HEAR him. Glo has named him "Mr. Man Frog".
We first heard him last year. He begins trilling around 8 p.m. (at dusk), and he doesn't stop until almost sunrise (usually around 4 a.m.). He's calling for girls, and believe me, he's persistent. In fact, he's so loud and so driven, we are forced to close the windows between our family room and the pond each night. And this isn't a seasonal thing--he goes all summer long.
Here's what he sounds like (although this isn't our friend)
Trying to identify him, we caught a few pictures of him and matched his trilling to some mating calls we found online. Turns out he isn't our delightful little green frog who lives in the grass at the edge of the pond.
He's a toad. An American Toad.
And he's a big boy!
Although we would prefer to be the nesting habitat for frog eggs, turns out the toads like our pond too. In fact, two nights ago I paused "Dancing with the Stars" (which was turned up several decibels to cover the mating calls) to discover that there were at least four male toads out singing around the pond. And they don't stop. In fact, the sun isn't even down over the mountain as I write this, and I can hear "Mr. Man Toad" out calling for his ladies :-)
Mr. Man Toad can stay. If I see any deer sidling up to the pond, they'll be deer jerky within seconds...
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