Frogs - October 12 -
Mass emergence of little frogs (froglets) happens most often after a big rain, and there were severe storms on Sep 20, 2025 when I first noted the frogs.
Prediction made with a little research: I have come to the conclusion that the little frogs that I saw on September 20 were frogs transitioning from a froglet into a frog. They were likely at the stage where they still have a slight tail but were undergoing metamorphosis in order to reach their full size. Frogs in this stage of metamorphosis often stay near the water’s edge in the vegetation unless disturbed, then they jump back into the water and swim off from danger (aka. me).
Findings: I visited my site at five pm. October 12, but instead of doing my normal Field observations I spent twenty minutes carefully walking around the edge of the pond at my location in order to attempt to capture one of these froglets in action. I got a decent video of one of them that I have below and it confirmed my hypothesis that those little frogs were indeed between stages of metamorphosis.
While I am still slightly confused as to why they were not at the spot I test at normally I was not surprised. After all, my research shows that they like to hide out in the vegetation; this theory is consistent with my findings today where I noted that the frogs were most commonly found in areas that I had a hard time getting to because of poky bushes and dense tall grasses. This seemed to act as a second layer of protection from predators outside of the pond like: raccoons, possums, dragonflies, and humans. I certainly didn’t want to get anywhere near those thorny bushes!
The one frog that I did track around for a couple seconds kept digging itself into the ground to hide from me so I looked into it and it is indeed something that frogs do to protect themselves from predators which I expected, but I also read that they go down there in extreme heat too. Given that throughout just one day the temperature can change over 30 degrees Fahrenheit right now I could imagine that might be too much for a developing frog body to handle, but that can be left for further research.
Future action: As I continue my field studies I plan on looking for more evidence that proves or disproves my hypothesis. I also want to keep my eye open for frog eggs or embryos because I have yet to see those yet and it would only make sense for them to be somewhere in the areas I’m searching.
Good work! Keep thinking about what will happen to them as it gets colder, too!
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