Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Frog

This little Wood Frog was on the sandy bank of a small inlet yesterday at Nodwell Sanctuary (now called the Western Sky Land Trust Wheatland #1 Property), near Carseland. Often when you see them, they tend to be hiding amongst the grass and leaves, but this little one was quite visible.

I only let out one shriek yesterday, deep in the forest northwest of the city, when a different Wood Frog surprised me. They always make me jump if I'm taken by surprise. It was quite difficult to notice this little guy, as he blended in very well with the leaf litter at the base of a tree. "Wood Frogs can survive many freeze/thaw events during winter if not more than about 65% of the total body water freezes." From Wikipedia.

A different angle on the amazing, tiny Red Eyed Tree Frog that I saw at the Calgary Zoo a few days ago. It seems that almost every part of it is beautifully coloured, textured or patterned. This little guy had suctioned his feet to the front glass of the aquarium. Everywhere was almost pitch black, so I'm still shaking my head that any of my photos came out at all. "Many scientists believe the red-eyed tree frog developed its vivid scarlet peepers to shock predators into at least briefly questioning their meal choice. These iconic rain-forest amphibians sleep by day stuck to leaf-bottoms with their eyes closed and body markings covered. When disturbed, they flash their bulging red eyes and reveal their huge, webbed orange feet and bright blue-and-yellow flanks. This technique, called startle coloration, may give a bird or snake pause, offering a precious instant for the frog to spring to safety. Red-eyed tree frogs, despite their conspicuous coloration, are not venomous. They are found in tropical lowlands from southern Mexico, throughout Central America, and in northern South America. Nocturnal carnivores, they hide in the rain forest canopy and ambush crickets, flies, and moths with their long, sticky tongues. Red-eyed tree frogs are not endangered. But their habitat is shrinking at an alarming rate, and their highly recognizable image is often used to promote the cause of saving the world's rain forests." From animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/red-eye...

This little Wood Frog was spotted by the 5-year-old daughter of Richard Chamberland, and she fearlessly managed to catch and hold it long enough to get a quick shot or two : ) I had been invited (along with two friends) to go up to Edmonton from Calgary (a 3-hour drive) on 4 June 2013, to see a family of tiny Northern Saw-whet Owls and a family of Barred Owls that he had banded (Licensed Raptor Bander) on private property. What an amazing day we had! Such a privilege to see some of the many owls that he bands.

Photographed this little endangered Leopard Frog through very dirty glass at the Calgary Zoo a few days ago. "Over the last 35 years, Northern Leopard Frog (Rana piplens) populations have declined dramatically over much of the species' range in North America. Abrupt population declines were first noted in Alberta in 1979. Since then, populations appear to have been extirpated over much of central Alberta and are absent or greatly reduced in southern Alberta. Only a handful of viable breeding populations currently remain in southeastern Alberta. Because of its virtual disappearance from the province, the Northern Leopard Frog has been designated as an endangered species under the Alberta Wildlife Act." From www.abheritage.ca/abnature/speciesatrisk/leopard_frog_int... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Leopard_Frog

I took this shot almost five years ago and posted a very cropped version almost four years ago - my, how time flies : )! We found this tiny Boreal Chorus Frog down at Frank Lake, south of the city, and a friend held it up for a quick photo. Wanted to post the barely-cropped version. www.srd.alberta.ca/BioDiversityStewardship/WildSpecies/Am...

I don't think any of us would have noticed this tiny Wood Frog at the base of this tree if we hadn't happened to have been watching it jump in the grass. Seen yesterday, when a handful of us went to the Bentz Lake Natural Area, north of Calgary and west of Sundre. A good part of the day (I left home about 6:45 a.m. and got back around 7:00 p.m.) was spent exploring a forested area, recording all the flora and fauna of the location. In between, we would walk closer to the small lake through a bog area that was VERY wet - LOL, I had soaking wet feet for about nine hours of the day! However, we had seen from the road, at the start of our full day, that there were some yellow Pondlilies growing on the lake surface, and nothing would have stopped me from reaching them to get a few shots of this new (to me) flower! They are absoutely beautiful, and I was torn as to whether to upload a close shot of this or the little red mushroom. The mushroom won : ) The following link goes to a short, fascinating video on YouTube, about how Wood Frogs freeze solid in the winter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjr3A_kfspM

.... maybe I'll turn into a beautiful princess! LOL, I couldn't resist posting this tiny Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) sitting gazing at friend David : ) I thought the hand would give a perfect sense of how small these frogs are. The Wood Frog is the smallest true frog in Alberta, ranging from only 30-60 mm in length. Seen at Bentz Lake Natural Area on 6th August. "Wood frogs tolerate the freezing of their blood and other tissues. Urea is accumulated in tissues in preparation for overwintering, and liver glycogen is converted in large quantities to glucose in response to internal ice formation. Both urea and glucose act as "cryoprotectants" to limit the amount of ice that forms and to reduce osmotic shrinkage of cells. Frogs can survive many freeze/thaw events during winter if not more than about 65% of the total body water freezes." From Wikipedia.