“A Free Refuge Concert”

By Scott Lee

It’s not too late to catch the end of the free concert season that’s happening at the refuge.  The concerts start at the end of March/early April with a full chorus of Wood Frogs singing (or should I say “quacking”?) away in the various woodland ponds throughout the refuge.  They wake up after being frozen solid all winter and thaw out, after hibernating in the shallow waters and as little “frogsicles” – one of nature’s miracles.  They no more get thawed out than the males start their mating calls, sounding more like ducks than frogs.

The concerts continue through the spring with the “snoring” of the Leopard Frogs, the ear-piercing “peeps” of the Spring Peepers, the “trilling” of chorus frogs, the “whistling hums” of the American Toad, the “clicking” of the Blanchard Cricket Frog”, the “chirping” of the Eastern Grey Tree Frogs (that might be green), and winding down in late June and July with the monotones of the choir, the Green Frogs (which tend to be more brown than green), with their not-so-melodious “ghungk” call.

The time for the various species to do their singing is determined by water temperature.  We are lucky to have at least one type contributing to the chorus continuously from early spring, when water temperature may only be in the 40s (the Wood Frog) all the way into July, when the water temperatures rise closer to the 80’s (Green Frogs).

It is only the males of each species that do the calling, most common on warm evenings.  They simply sit in or near the water, give it their best musical sounds, and the females hop on in to proceed with their mating rituals. It’s not too late to catch the final concerts, albeit that of the Green Frogs – the worst of the singers.  You might get lucky, however, and hear a very rare frog for this area, the American Bull Frog, with their deep, bass call sounding much like a foghorn.  There’s nothing in nature quite like a full chorus of frogs and/or toads so get out and enjoy – and the concert is FREE!!