Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

Oh what would Dr. Seuss say! Well, he may have said something like,

“I like Green Frogs in our pond,
They sing like banjos all day long.

I watch them as they hop and play,
I see them do this every day!”

Ok, I’ll leave the rhyming to Dr.Seuss – but I did want to share some neat shots of the eggs that they laid in our little front yard pond.

Earlier this year, a snapping turtle showed up in the pond and the Green Frogs were clearly concerned. (I thought it was neat but I can see their point). After the turtle departed however, their activities returned to normal, and one day, as I peered into the pond, I saw a very large mass of eggs.

By a quick estimate, the mass must have had at least 800 eggs! These eggs did not go unnoticed though by the Wood Frog tadpoles and other creatures in the pond and many were gobbled up. (See, there are those that do like green eggs! even though these weren’t really green, they’re more brown)

The eggs that went uneaten hatched within a few days and the tadpoles are now in the leaf litter eating various things in the pond. They will take about 2 years to develop into frogs and only few will make it to adulthood, but it was fun to document their beginnings.

Having a backyard pond is a great way to watch wildlife and learn about nature — all sorts of animals walk, hop and fly in!

Linda Millington, our volunteer coordinator, sent me a funny email about Gray Tree frogs that use her patio umbrella as a place to hide out during the day.

Here’s what Linda shared:

Every year we have at least two tree frogs that love our umbrellas around the pool.

We have large cement bases for the umbrellas that are shaped like frogs so we joke that they are there because of the tree frog gods.

This summer we have three – they all hang out all day in the folds of the umbrella or on the poles and then depart at night.

Here are photos of one – one bathed in green light. They are so cute!

If you live in a wooded area and have some water nearby, you probably have Gray Tree Frogs too.

I’m talking about our wood frog tadpoles.  Remember back to March 5-10 when the eggs were laid? And then I posted those under water photos of the eggs and newly hatched tadpoles?

Well here they are a few weeks later.  They won’t really sit still for photos now that they’re bigger, (I guess the camera lens under water looks like something that may eat them) but I got a few shots that I thought you’d have fun looking at. They’re posted to our facebook gallery.

You can see that they’re just starting to show that wood frog moustache.

You can also see in the photos an aquatic crustacean called Daphnia.  They’re an interesting animal that is very important in vernal pools in that they serve as food for amphibian larvae while eating up detritus materials, algae and bacteria. Their antennae are actually used for locomotion.

Here we are, right smack in the middle of the froggy season and it’s time to celebrate National Frog Month!

I don’t think there was such a thing when I was growing up but I’m glad there is one now – if for no other reason than to pull attention to our amphibian friends who are out there peeping and ribbiting away, and making their journeys from terrestrial homes to the ponds and streams where they breed, and playing important roles in our ecosystem.

Here in Loudoun, we have eight species of frogs: Wood frogs, Spring Peepers, Pickerel frogs, Cricket frogs, Upland Chorus frogs, Green frogs, Bullfrogs, and Gray Treefrogs.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll do some special species highlights on our local frogs so we can get to know them better and learn to recognize their calls, their habitats and their behaviors.

Happy Frog Month!

I thought this would be fun to share with everyone…. an underwater view of wood frog eggs from last week as well as some photos from yesterday of the newly hatched wood frog tadpoles.

Remember those rain events around March 5-10?  Well in spite of the chilly temperatures, Wood Frogs (along with Spotted and Jefferson Salamanders) migrated by the thousands to vernal pools tucked in and around forests near you.

They likely braved crossing the road (twice!) and moved from the woodland habitats where they live the majority of their lives (up to 1/4 mile away) to the vernal pools where they were born to mate, lay eggs and then return to the forest.

Over the past two weeks, this new generation of frogs and salamanders has been developing….. the cold nights we had a couple of times froze eggs that were on the surface of the water and killed those individuals, but the ones below the water continued to develop, and now have hatched!

I love this time of year (ok, I love every time of year for all it’s natural wonders, but this time is especially fun for amphibian life)! Things are happening so fast yet on the surface we may not notice all the changes that are going on. 

The photos here are from the little pond we have in our front yard (yes – ponds and gardening for wildlife can and should be done in the front, the back and the sides of our yards )

Over the next few weeks, these tadpoles will develop from aquatic beings to terrestrial froglets, growing legs (hind legs first since frogs hop), and breathing air. They’ll leave our little pond and head into the forest where they’ll live the rest of the year, hopefully to return next March to breed and continue this amazing cycle! Stay tuned for more photos as I try to catch them at different stages.

You can create a pond for your yard too – it’s really easy. Here’s the write-up I did awhile back right after we set up the ponds at our house: Build a Frog Pond. Remember – just let the amphibians come to you, resist the urge to have instant frogs by buying them at the nursery (they’ll eat your native population of frogs and disrupt the balance)

We had our last of three amphibian monitoring program kickoffs this past Saturday.  This one was held at Algonkian Regional Park and it held some really great sightings!

To start the morning, Casey Pittrizzi, the naturalist at Algonkian Regional Park, let everyone have up close looks at a Wood Frog, Spotted Salamander, American Toad and Gray Tree Frog, that NVRPA has temporarily for education purposes. This was a great way to start off the program and start learning about our amphibians!

After our classroom session, where I basically gave everyone the run down on the different habitats amphibians use (forests and wetlands) and talked through the 25 different species we have here in Loudoun, we headed out into the field. [check out the photo album]

Our first stop was the little man-made pools at the mini-golf course.  To our excitement, we spotted numerous strings of American Toad eggs. 

That was special since we haven’t really heard the toads calling yet but they have obviously had an opportunity to get to the pools for breeding.

We also saw spotted salamander egg masses and hundreds of wood frog tadpoles, already hatched from their eggs.  We also spotted a newt in one of the pools, possibly eating frog or toad eggs.

From there, we headed out along the trails to look at the different wetland habitats – both vernal pools and swamp areas.

Here, we found an adult American Toad, obviously very cold and still in hibernation.  We also did a little dip netting and found lots of FAIRY SHRIMP! This is an obligate species for vernal pools and is only the second documented occurrence here in Loudoun.

Many thanks to all the participants for being a part of the day and to all the new volunteers for jumping in to the amphibian monitoring program this year!

Algonkian Regional Park is definitely one of our great places here in Loudoun.  Casey has some fun nature hikes and other programs lined up through the spring and summer, and we look forward to partnering on more events together!

We had our first amphibian class and field trip yesterday and we had lots of great encounters! 

We spent the day at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, which is great any time of year but especially fanstastic for amphibians this time of year.

First we had our indoor talk about the Amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders and newts) of Loudoun and their habitats. We enjoyed looking at an adult male Jefferson Salamander, an adult gravid female Spotted Salamander, and 4 Red-spotted newts (at least one was a female).

Then we went out into the field and checked the vernal pools and permanent ponds for activity.

Wood frogs were calling along the mill race along the stream and Spring Peepers were in full chorus in the flooded field. We saw the Skunk cabbage in bloom and tiny buds on spicebush starting the show.

In the pools, there were a good number of wood frog egg masses although not quite as many as i past years. In one location though, there were over 100 egg masses, indicating that at least 800 wood frogs had been present!

We saw a couple of Spotted Salamander egg masses and a decent (although not high) number of Jefferson egg masses.  Don’t despair though…….I think the ladies are still needing to migrate to the pools or perhaps just arrived, because we saw a lot of spermatophore.  I think in an other week or so we’ll see lots of salamander egg masses.

The pools were all full, the flooded field was nicely flooded. So, that big rain we had last wednesday was a great start to the amphibian season.  I hope the pools stay wet through the next few months so the frog and salamander young can develop and get back to the woods.

The stream was pretty high and running fast. We managed to cross it just fine, but boots were a must.

Photos from the day are in our facebook gallery.

I had a great day! I hope everyone who came out enjoyed it too!

Be a Citizen Scientist – it’s really fun

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy offers many opportunities to participate in programs that promote the collection of important environmental data. Training and 2011 kickoffs for many of these programs start up in February – check the Programs Calendar for information.

Stream Monitoring
Interested in what you might find in a stream near you?  Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy monitors our local streams for all types of bacterial and invertebrate life to assess and track water quality.

Sign up on our Stream Monitoring page to join a team in the search and identification of species that tell the tale of the quality of Loudoun’s streams and habitat.

Monitoring occurs three times a year between April and November and takes about 4 hours each time. It’s a great way to learn about water quality in our local streams.

Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring
Bluebirds, some of our most beloved songbirds for their beautiful colors and cheerful songs, need our help to thrive.  2010 was a very hard year for Bluebirds as significant numbers perished in the winter storms we had. Through monitoring last summer, we saw the effects of the hard winter. In 2011 we look forward to seeing their numbers rebound.

Join Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Nestbox Monitoring program and observe the nesting behavior of this magnificent species as well as other beautiful songbirds that use the boxes like the Tree Swallow and House Wren.

As a nestbox monitor, you provide valuable census information on the local population of bluebirds. Visit our Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring page to become a part of this rewarding experience. Monitoring takes place from mid-March through August. The season kickoff is taking place in February and you can sign up now.

Amphibian Monitoring
Frogs, toads, salamanders and newts – They are all important natural indicators of the health of our habitat and they have fascinating lifecycles.

In order to gauge just how well these fascinating creatures thrive in Loudoun County, we launched the Loudoun Amphibian Monitoring Program (LAMP).

Help monitor the health of our amphibious population through call surveys, site surveys, and migration mapping.

You’ll learn to identify frog and toad calls, know when and where to look for egg masses and how to identify different species in different cycles of their lives. To volunteer for any of these subsets of our amphibian monitoring program, or for more information, visit our amphibian monitoring program page. Monitoring takes place from March through about July although you can monitor into the fall as well if you want to. Our season kickoff is happening in March if you’d like to sign up.

Bird Atlas
Participate in Loudoun County’s unique bird atlas program, in which volunteers track and record the species and numbers of birds found in Loudoun. We have a number of blocks throughout the county where no one is collecting data — we really need your help.

The county is divided into 75 blocks, and each of these 10 square-mile blocks is assigned to a different individual or group to ensure countywide coverage. The atlas has been an ongoing project since 2009, and is set for publication in 2014.

We need your help across Loudoun to document our bird species!  It’s easy and fun. For more information, please visit our Bird Atlas page.

Other monitoring activities
In addition to the programs listed above, we also do one-day events that are a lot of fun.  There’s the Annual Butterfly Count (August), the Christmas Bird Count (December) and the International Migratory Bird Day Count (May)

Join us for some monitoring fun!

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy offers many opportunities for citizens to participate in nature programs that promote the collection of important environmental data across the county.

Stream Monitoring

Interested in what you might find in a stream near you?  Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy works alongside the Loudoun Watershed Watch in monitoring our local streams for all types of bacterial and invertebrate life. Sign up on our Stream Monitoring page to join a stream team in the search and identification of species integral to monitoring the quality of Loudoun’s streams. Requires a commitment of 3-4 hours at each of three monitoring sessions between the months of April and November.

Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring

Bluebirds, some of our most beloved songbirds for their beautiful colors and cheerful songs, need our help to thrive.  Join LWC’s Nestbox Monitoring program and observe the nesting behavior of this magnificent species, while at the same time providing valuable census information on the local population of bluebirds. We have trails across the county – from Leesburg to Ashburn and Sterling to Neersville, Purcellville and Waterford. Requires about 2 hours per month from April through August on a public trail or you can register your home nestboxes with us and report your data. Visit our Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring page to become a part of this rewarding experience.

Amphibian Monitoring

Amphibians are wonderful natural indicators of the health of wetlands and forests. In order to gauge just how well these fascinating creatures thrive in Loudoun County, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy launched the Loudoun Amphibian Monitoring Program (LAMP). Help monitor the health of our amphibious population through frog and toad call surveys, amphibian site surveys, and migration mapping. Time commitment can be as little as a few hours in each of the four monitoring windows from February through July or more if you really get into it. To volunteer for any of these subsets of LAMP, or for more information, visit our Amphibian Monitoring page.

Bird Atlas

Participate in Loudoun County’s unique bird atlas program, in which volunteers track and record the species and numbers of birds found in Loudoun. The county is divided into 75 blocks, and each of these 10 square-mile blocks is assigned to a different individual or group to ensure countywide coverage. The atlas has been an ongoing project since 2009, and is set for publication in 2014. Volunteer while you can – more eyes on the ground mean better data for the atlas!  You can sign up as a helper for a block or a block owner, or just sign up to report incidental sightings. All birds count so this is a great activity for people of all experience levels. Time commitment can be as much as you like.  For more information, please visit our Bird Atlas page.

In further celebration of National Frog Month, I thought it’d be good to share this film with you.

Frogs: The Thin Green Line takes us from the global perspective of frogs and their populations around the world right down to our local level. Frogs have been around for over 250 million years, evolving in some of the most amazing ways, in such great diversity of colors and specialties. Yet today, they are at the center of one of the greatest mass extinctions since the dinosaurs and this story is playing out right in our own backyards.

Learn about what’s happening globally and then discuss what we can do locally to not only monitor these trends through our amphibian monitoring program but also take action to protect and restore habitats.

We did a showing of this movie at one of our programs last fall and may do that again in  the future but in the meantime, it’s definitely worth checking out. You can watch the full program online at the PBS Nature website.