Now before you go thinking dirty thoughts about my wood frog friends up in the top photo, who by the way quack like ducks to my ear, know this:
They are simply engaged in amplexus (doesn’t that sound tame and scientific?), in which the male (in this species the smaller frog) clasps the larger female around the back. This goes on for some time, and they don’t seem to be one bit shy. The embrace began right out at poolside, where 15 other frogs were sunning themselves, including the few in the background of the photo below. Eventually the happy couple retreated into the shrubbery onto a bed of pine needles, and finally into the water, where the eggs must be laid.
Everyone’s feeling frisky. The two bullfrogs who overwintered in one of my pools one recent year split one early spring Saturday night under cover of a giant rainstorm, as they do every year about that time, seeking a bigger body of water for breeding. My prediction: They’ll be back, on a wet fall night.
other frog adventuresClose encounter with a wood frog The Herping With Dylan YouTube channel When the bullfrogs are on the move What happens when male green frogs get jealous Categoriesfrogboys Read more on awaytogarden.com