Croaking Chorus
I saw the beautiful frog and muttered to myself “safe in the arms of mother duck.” I then chuckled, thinking how that might sound, as ducks are known to eat frogs. In this case, however, all was well because this bright green tree frog was in Mother Duck, one of the most striking daylilies in our garden.
I love green tree frogs, but to be honest I love all frogs. I live less than a mile from Georgia's coastal marsh, with canals all around, and that surely enhances the incredible nightly concerts. Sure the green tree frogs are doing their part, but so is every other species. I've recorded it with my phone just so I can show others what they are missing.
I've always felt a little slighted that the rainforest has the colorful poison dart frogs, but I have to admit I am most boastful about our handsome, bright green tree frog, Hyla cinerea. Every time I mention them in garden groups, some people get squeamish. I've used the word “our” far too often, as if the Deep South had a monopoly on these frogs. But indeed they are native as far north as Maryland and Delaware; then, as far north as Minnesota, there is a relative called the gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor, that actually can change colors.
When it comes to green tree frogs, some are bright green and others are olive green with markings of white or yellow. Their legs are 1.5 times the length of their bodies, giving them the ability to leap eight to 10 feet. Their feet are unique, with rounded, adhesive disks on unwebbed toes that enable the frogs to climb. I get a kick out of watching them cling to windows and doors by the front porch lights, waiting for a tasty dinner to fly by.
During the day, the green tree frog goes into protective mode, remaining still and hidden so not to be seen by predators or tortured by the family feline. You will find them nestled in the cup of a bromeliad, snuggled down in the leaf of a canna, hidden among the fronds of a Boston fern or in my case nestled snug in a daylily.Their concert begins each evening after sunset. The males sing choruses, hoping to attract the young ladies. Sitting on the porch or patio listening to them sing and watching the passing fireflies also doing a mating ritual has to be one of the South's finest moments. It is the stuff that makes childhood memories and provides the lore for books about the South.After mating, the females propel their eggs backward into ponds or streams where the eggs adhere to floating vegetation. Within a couple of days, the eggs hatch into a larval stage known as tadpoles.This phase lasts four to six weeks; then individuals mature into tree frogs. It will be the next year, however, before they reach sexual maturity and bring us their song again. The sounds go silent in August as mating season ends and the frogs prepare to over-winter.
