Swamp

Jasmine loves to sink into the muck. She loves to scare the Great Blue Heron. Bonus points if he makes that crazy squawk.

The Green Herons head for the trees, but they don't complain as much. I think they're used to it.

What we call the "swamp" got awfully dry for a while this year. When it was down to one small puddle there were twelve little frog heads poking up out of it. After it finally rained again they sang and laughed.



Like the previous frog video, it's really just for the sound. You'll probably need to turn up your speakers to hear the frogs laughing... it sounds perfectly normal on my computer but when I upload it, the sound gets diminished somehow.

There are actually two types of frog/toad noises here (but I'm not sure you'll be able to hear the lower ones near the end). I'm having trouble identifying them, so let me know if you have any clues.

Happy amphibians

My first try at a video blog. Actually it's just for the sound, but you get to see me moving the camera around slightly.



These are the voices of Fowler's Toads (Bufo fowleri). (I think. Click on the link and listen to see if you agree.) After our recent rains, the dry swamp has some water in it again, and all is right in the amphibian world.

List of more Alabama frogs and toads here.

Upload your videos to YouTube!

Please let me know if the video doesn't work for you.

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Updated: I had second thoughts on my ID. I believe they may be Fowler's Toads rather than Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toads.

Swamp

Our swamp:

(Click for a larger image.)

It's not technically a swamp I guess, though it is definitely swampy.

More like a pond gone totally wild.

This is where the majority of the frogs congregate. With a similar area on a neighbor's property, when they're particularly loud (the frogs, not the neighbors) we're treated to stereo croaking.

When the real estate agent originally gave us a tour of the place, we had the distinct impression that she was trying to avoid showing us this part of the property. I guess most people would not be that happy to own a swamp. Little did she know that it would be one of the main attractions for us!

My husband saw a Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin) snake here about a week ago. I'm a little afraid of those snakes, since
a. They are venomous,
b. I've seen them act agressively, and
c. I'm don't always watch where I'm going the way that I should.

Night chorus

For the past two days we've heard a symphony of frogs in the late afternoon and early evening. Down by the swamp the noise is almost deafening!

I don't have a separate microphone for the laptop, but I hoped that the built-in one could pick up the sound since it was so loud. I was disappointed in the quality but I guess you can't expect much without a real microphone.

Here's my short recording of the frogs.

I was able to find a nice page that features a few frog sounds, and learned that most of our singers are Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer). Go there to hear a recording that's a lot better than mine.

We could hear (but couldn't record) at least two other frog species that we haven't identified yet. I think one might be the Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala) but I'm not sure. We had those frogs at the water garden at our old house, and I thought I knew what they sounded like... but the recordings I checked seem a little different.

Edited to add:
As a result of them starting to sing earlier than anyone else the next evening, we were able to better isolate the sound, and identified the American Toad (Bufo americanus) as another one of our mystery amphibians.
(end of edit)

While we were down by the ponds appreciating the frog chorus last night, the Barred Owls (Strix varia) chimed in and made us smile even more.

This page has recordings of the owls' "courtship duet". In real life it often sounds like a courtship quartet (or more). The owls seem to work themselves into such a frenzy of calling that you'd swear you were in the deepest jungle.

It doesn't seem confined to just their courtship time either - you can sometimes hear groups of them cackling like maniacs during the summertime.

We heard Barred owls in the woods behind our old house in the suburbs too, so it's not just a rural thing.

Vapor trails

While walking near the swamp, we saw some contrail reflections among the branches.






Later, the sunset made them look like angry cuts.