Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)

A pair of Wood Frogs mating on my lawn.

I heard the first croaking calls of the Wood Frog this evening.  An unusually warm spring day with a maximum temperature of 65.  Taylor Pond ice out occured unusually early this year on March 15.  The swamp around my home has been mostly ice free for weeks.  Just four days ago we had a nor'easter that dropped a foot of snow and wind gusts of 25 mph. Most of the snow has melted and apparently the frogs have also thawed.  The male, on top, tends to be smaller and darker than the female. They average 2-3 inches when full grown.  They typically inhabit woodlands, for which their coloring provides great camouflage, and only migrate to vernal pools for breeding.  They overwinter by burrowing into the soil and will partially freeze. They accumulate large amounts of urea and glucose in their blood stream which act as antifreeze to protect them from the damage that freezing can cause. Their duck-like calls are the first of the frogs to call in this area of Maine.