Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Rana sylvatica

"Coloration varies from pink-tan, gray, olive-green, various shades of brown, to almost black; whitish jaw stripe contrasts with a dark eye mask that extends from the nostril over the eye and just behind the ear; light dorsal stripe is frequently present" From fanweb.ca/resources-services/alberta-natural-history/amph... 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 The day started very early for us on 3 June 2016, as a few regulars had been invited to visit the Square Butte Ranch for the very first time, to do a Bio-blitz. We had to be at the meeting place for 7:00 am for a day of exploration SW of Calgary. The sun was shining all day and the temperature was around 24C or 25C. Our leader creates a highly detailed list of all the plants, birds, insects, fungi, lichen, mosses that were seen during the few hours we were there. This list is sent to the person who invited us there as well as to the participants. This was a new place for us to explore, though over the years, we had been to several other acreages not too far away. We strolled over grassy meadows with ponds, and through forest covered in deep, soft mosses. Everywhere was a carpet of Dandelions in bloom and in seed. A few bird species were seen, including a Belted Kingfisher which landed at the top of a very tall coniferous tree, looking rather out of place so high up. List of birds seen, compiled by our leader: Canada Goose-4 ad/10 juv Mallard-1 f/1 juv Common Merganser-1 m Swainson’s Hawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-1 Killdeer-1 Spotted Sandpiper-1 Great Gray Owl-reported by residents Belted Kingfisher-1 Pileated Woodpecker, evidenced by extraction of Carpenter Ants Gray Jay-2 Common Raven-2 Tree Swallow-4 Cliff Swallow-100+ Barn Swallow-6 Boreal Chickadee-1 Red-breasted Nuthatch-2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet-2 Winter Wren-1 Mountain Bluebird-8 American Robin-3 Tennessee Warbler-4 Chipping Sparrow-2 Clay-colored Sparrow-5 Savannah Sparrow-2 Song Sparrow-1 Brown-headed Cowbird-4 American Goldfinch-1 m “In the 1990’s, developers started transforming 480 acres of rangeland in the Foothills of the Rockies into a recreational ranch property operated as a bare land condominium. Architectural guidelines ensured that all buildings were designed in a rustic, western style featuring log and timber structures with large front porches, wrap around decks and hitching posts. The vision was one of owners being able to enjoy the fun and excitement of a western ranch living without the headaches.” www.squarebutteranches.com/

Friend, Karel, calls himself a Herper. “Herpetology (from Greek "herpien" meaning "to creep") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and reptiles (includingsnakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras).” From Wikipedia. Unfortunately, in Alberta, we have only one species of lizard and about four or five kinds of snake, so Karel has turned his attention to wildflowers, fungi, etc. He leads one of our botany outings each week (though I have missed most of them this season) and, if we are lucky enough to have had enough rain for enough mushrooms to grow, may lead a fungi walk or two. This photo of Karel was taken yesterday, 3 June 2016, when a few regulars were invited to visit the Square Butte Ranch, SW of Calgary, to do a Bio-blitz. Karel is holding a little Wood Frog; always a fun find on any trip. The day started very early for us, having to be at the meeting place for 7:00 am, so my alarms were set for 4:30 am. The sun was shining all day and the temperature was around 24C or 25C. Our leader creates a highly detailed list of all the plants, birds, insects, fungi, lichen, mosses that were seen during the few hours we were there. Can’t forget to include wildlife seen – one Red Squirrel : ) This list is also sent to the person who invited us there as well as to the participants. This was a new place for us to explore, though over the years, we had been to several other acreages not too far away. We strolled over grassy meadows with ponds, and through forest covered in deep, soft mosses. Everywhere was a carpet of Dandelions in bloom and in seed. For me, the highlight of the day was when a Morel mushroom was spotted! I so rarely see these and I have been hoping recently that someone would find one somewhere. A few bird species were seen, including a Belted Kingfisher which landed at the top of a very tall coniferous tree, looking rather out of place so high up. “In the 1990’s, developers started transforming 480 acres of rangeland in the Foothills of the Rockies into a recreational ranch property operated as a bare land condominium. Architectural guidelines ensured that all buildings were designed in a rustic, western style featuring log and timber structures with large front porches, wrap around decks and hitching posts. The vision was one of owners being able to enjoy the fun and excitement of a western ranch living without the headaches.” www.squarebutteranches.com/

An update on my daughter who was in the hospital for a few days. She was allowed to go home three evenings ago, though the medical staff still aren't completely sure of the cause of the problem. She has a follow-up appointment in September, so hopefully she and we will know more at that time. Meanwhile, I feel totally drained, ha! A couple of days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and a Yellowjacket (wasp), plus a few of the plants in my friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. No scenery shots, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. There was nothing I could do about the single blade of grass that goes right across the Wood Frog's face. If I had tried to move it with my hiking pole, you know what the frog would have done : ) "Similar to other northern frogs that enter dormancy close to the surface in soil and/or leaf litter, wood frogs can 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 no more than about 65% of the total body water freezes." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_frog Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air (from forest fires burning in Washington State, northwest US). We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

.... as Engelbert Humperdinck sang in 1985 (but not my kind of music!). We saw about three of these little Wood Frogs at Elkton/Cremona Bog on July 30th last year, all of them very dark, so presumably they are Dark Phase/Dark Morph species? This little one allowed one of us (not me!) to hold him gently so that a few photos could be taken, to add to our botanizing day records. I'd never seen a Dark Morph before - didn't even know there was such a thing. Wood Frogs are only 30 to 60 millimetres (about one to two inches) in length. Thanks, little guy, for helping us learn new things : ) "Coloration varies from pink-tan, gray, olive-green, various shades of brown, to almost black; whitish jaw stripe contrasts with a dark eye mask that extends from the nostril over the eye and just behind the ear; light dorsal stripe is frequently present" From fanweb.ca/resources-services/alberta-natural-history/amph... 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

... and I'll turn into a handsome prince : ) Isn't he cute? Of course, it could be a female, who knows? We saw about three of these little Wood Frogs in Cremona Bog yesterday, all of them very dark, so presumably they are Dark Phase/Dark Morph species? This little one allowed one of us (not me!) to hold him so that a few photos could be taken. I'd never seen a Dark Morph before - didn't even know there was such a thing. I'll try to remember to post a side shot of him eventually, to show the dark colour on his back. Wood Frogs are only 30 to 60 millimetres (about one to two inches) in length. Thanks, little guy, for helping us learn new things : ) "Coloration varies from pink-tan, gray, olive-green, various shades of brown, to almost black; whitish jaw stripe contrasts with a dark eye mask that extends from the nostril over the eye and just behind the ear; light dorsal stripe is frequently present" From fanweb.ca/resources-services/alberta-natural-history/amph... Today was the third day in a row of all-day botanizing out of town (four all together this week). In other words, three long days of slow hiking, finding and recording every single plant, bird, insect, animal that we find. This means setting my alarms for 5:00 a.m. or 5:30 a.m., and getting home somewhere around maybe 6:00 p.m.. So much fresh air and exercise, plus constantly getting down on my knees to photograph something totally knocks me out - even more so, if it happens to be a hot day. Today was very pleasant, not too hot, thank goodness. It was spent on Plateau Mountain, south of the city and south of Highway 40, turning south when you reach Highwood House. A long drive to get there, but what a magnificent place. Tons of beautiful wildflowers on the grassy slopes. 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

Another shot of one of the three little Wood Frogs we saw on a botanizing trip to Elkton Bog, north west of the city, near Cremona, on 30th July. I would never be able to hold one of these little froggies myself, but my ID capabilities when it comes to human hands fails me today. Sorry, I can't remember who the kind soul was who willingly held this cute little creature! The Wood Frogs we saw there that day were very dark coloured on their backs, unlike frogs we've seen elsewhere.

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.

We saw this little guy/gal yesterday (was it really only yesterday?) on a walk at Edworthy Park (bottom of the hill and along the railway tracks). This is just a young Wood Frog and so was tiny (more like the size of our Boreal Chorus Frog). I've never held a frog (and I'm sure I never will), so thank you, Doug, for holding this little creature so that we could get a photo or two. S/he was so co-operative (LOL) and such a beautiful little thing. 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