Yesterday was a very successful day in the field. While conducting another woodland wildflower, in-the-field workshop, I found a “life” wildflower … a few Jack-in-the-Pulpits, which I’ll share in an upcoming post. After the workshop ended, I decided to check out the nearby natural prairie for progress with wildflowers there. On my trek through the prairie, I have to hike through about 1/8 mile of woods. Along the way, I found a juvenile Eastern Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) along the trail. Fortunately, I had my macro lens on my camera, so I stopped for a few minutes and captured some images. Here are my favorites:
You might notice that the frog looks more brown, than gray, in these images. This species of treefrog can be gray, greenish-gray or brown. Another noted coloration of this treefrog is that they always have a large, white marking below each eye (visible in the above photos). Their call is a bird-like, musical trill. I have been hearing them in the woodlands, but this is my first-of-year sighting. Although the Eastern gray treefrog is a forest-dwelling species, they breed in late May and early June, in fishless, woodland ponds. The average size of these frogs is from 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches in length. You might also note the large, adhesive toe pads on their fingers and toes. I have these special creatures living in the woods around my rural home and often see them “stuck” to the windows or doors of my home in the summer. :o)
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 180mm, f/3.5 macro lens
- Bogen 3221 tripod, with Graf Studioball ballhead
- ISO 500
- Aperture f/3.5 to f/8
- Shutter 1/40 sec. to 1/400 sec.