Frog lovers

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birdie
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Frog lovers

I thought I would start this up here as there are many of us with a thing for frogs. I would love to know more about them and am so happy that all the recent rain has meant that there are more and more signs that our native frog population is still alive and well here in Queensland. It is easy to get the impression that the toads have conquered them all which is very sad.
I will repeat the shot of the Great Barred Frog that I found in Maleny the morning after the big rain ( 330ml in one day) It was so well disguised that at first I thought it was a pile of silty mud washed into a corner at the base of a sloping path that had water about 5inches deep against the door. AS it receded there it was :')

edward
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Birdie, that is a strange looking frog - its legs don't look big enough for its body.
I have included a couple of frogs from our place.
Plains froglet (on the old bathtub)

Brown tree frog

Pobblebonk

We also have some photos of the common froglet and spotted marsh frog as well as some sound recordings of our dams at night. I will try and add these a little later on.

birdie
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Thanks Edward

Sunshine Coast Queensland

edward
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A few more photos of frogs at our place.
Common Froglet

Spotted Marsh Frog

Tree frog sitting on our window (escaping the downpour - too wet even for the frogs)

We think that we also have Verreaux's tree frog based on the calls we are hearing, but have not confirmed a sighting as yet.

If we can work out how to get the calls (audio) on the forum we will put them up in the next few days.

birdie
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Edward, there are a few sites where you can upload an audio file just google it. But I have had better success with adding some pics to it and making a video and using Youtube.

The you just add the link in here and people can see the visuals while they listen.... just a thought.

I am so interested in your frogs so keep it up please. I can never get close to any around my home.... they are just invisible!!! At the beginning of the rainy season I remember standing by a creek and listening to the popping sounds... like a pot of popcorn cooking , it was amazing. Probably cane toads at that stage for all I know!

Sunshine Coast Queensland

edward
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Birdie,
The following website is a great resource for frogs and has the calls for most of them. We find this a good way to identify most frogs as they tend to vary in size and colour a lot more than birds do.
http://frogs.org.au/frogs/

Araminta
Araminta's picture

edward, I love "your frogs" , but just like birdie said, I'm finding it hard to find them. I find the odd one sitting on the window, but I don't even know what kind of frogs I have around my little waterhole? Do you just take a torch, and sneak up on them? Please do tell! I have wear boots, the frogs live where the snakes live, at my place! Frogs are great, but I like SPIDERS aswell.

M-L

sewal
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I have used this site, www.zshare.net to upload audio files. The link to your file can then be pasted into BIBY.

edward
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Thanks Sewal - I've given it a go. This should be the link
http://www.zshare.net/download/8559900672c7a059/

You can hear 4 of the frogs calling - all the frogs in our photos above, except for the pobblebonk.

Araminta - yes, we take a spotlight and hunt for them in our dams or in the undergrowth nearby. We locate them from their calls, and have found that some of our loud frogs are actually quite tiny. We find that on warm nights in spring/summer are best. And after rain they seem to go wild and are so intent on mating that they don't care that we are there.

Other frogs we've seen when working in the garden. The pobblebonks always seem to turn up in any damp piles of mulch/green waste.

It is always wise to wear your boots! We have seen a couple of red-bellied snakes near our dams. We've got a whole lot of spiders as well....one of us (D) is in to them and the other one of us (M) is terrified of them! So if you want to start a separate thread for spiders it will get some interest from 'edward'.

cooee
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Wow, nice frogs! I remeber when my dad took me across the road and down itno the creek and we would come out with our clothes covered in pike-weed and our ears echoing from the sound of frogs and cicadas (good times). Now the frogs have advanced into our garden, well one of them did, but its still loud! I can't find it but I know where it is and what it is. It the "Ornate Burrowing Frog", it doesn't sound anything like a frog! It sounds like someone is cutting down a tree. Has any one else heard it? Im going to try put a link know, dont laugh. http://www.frogsaustralia.net.au

cooee
cooee's picture

OOPS! Thats not how you do it? Well, we learn from our mistackes.

Wanda
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I have Peron tree frogs. They live in the base of the pot of my Hoya and in the top of our tank.

Araminta
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Hi Wanda, I LOVE THE PHOTOS ! Most of all, the one in the second photo, that has a little peek !Beautiful!!

M-L

Araminta
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Hi Wanda, I LOVE THE PHOTOS ! Most of all, the one in the second photo, that has a little peek !Beautiful!!

M-L

Araminta
Araminta's picture

My computer has problems, sorry. It's the rain, Testra says!

M-L

Windhover
Windhover's picture

A good site for frogs that I have found is
frogs.org.au
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I love taking photos of these amphibians as they always look like they're smiling. Here are a few images linked (cannot downsize right now).
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http://amatteroflight.com/gallery2/d/4028-1/Blue-Mountains-Tree-Frog_5755.jpg
Blue Mountains Tree Frog
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http://amatteroflight.com/gallery2/d/3695-1/Emerald-spotted-Frog_7355.jpg
Emerald-spotted Frog
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http://amatteroflight.com/gallery2/d/1484-2/Red-crowned-Toadlet_0871.jpg
Red-crowned Toadlet
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cooee
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YES!

cooee
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Sorry, made a typo, so much for the celebration.
http://frogsaustralia.net.au/

cooee
cooee's picture

Finally! Apologize for that.

Amateur

Nothing as exciting as your frogs, I've only photographed and seen a few as I don't exactly go searching for them, but I do like most animals (with the general exception of roaches and spiders etc.). If someone could tell me what they are it would be appreciated :)

Uhh, I think the dwarf eastern tree frog or something but im not sure...

And a juvenile

The green frogs are currently residing in my grandmother's agapanthus and there was alot of them when I took these photos!

cathshane

Great photos to all. When i was a kid we visited my sister in Queensland (i was only about 8) and i filled the sink full of frogs that i had found in the garden, they were going to be my pets. My sister let them all go of course.

Araminta
Araminta's picture

Amareur, I love your last photo, it almost looks like a painting! Do you remember what the Aboriginal man, I talked to at the Tennis, said to me? -the most important animal in the cycle is the frog-, and if you upset the frog, everything will be out of balance! Good to see, so many people value the frog. Let's look out for it!! (quoted from what I said on -Channel Bills and Koels leaving)

M-L

edward
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Amateur, it does look like a dwarf green tree frog. The first one looks very much like the stiped marsh frog that we get down here. Based on that I looked at our guide book and he has a close relative - the pink striped frog (limnodynastes salmini). COuld be one of these two.

Wanda
Wanda's picture

To Amateur, I am not sure where you live but I think the first one could be a Pink Striped or Salmon Striped Frog, but I am no frog expert (I just love them) it is the closet it comes to a picture in my frog book.

Wanda
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Sorry Edward I posted this and sent and then your post came in front of mine but we seemed to be on the wave. :-)

Wanda
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@ Edward that was suppose to say on the same wave.
@ Amateur I think the second one could be a Green Reed or Dwarf Tree frog due to the line from the snout to the eye.

Wanda
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I so have to agree with you Araminta about what you were told by the Aboriginal man and the cycle of frogs. You sure know things are good when the frogs are around.

Windhover
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Amateur (and all others asking for IDs)
It helps if you would kindly provide the location where you took the photos. Eg, Parramatta NSW or Tingalpa Qld. Knowing geographical area would help with the ID process.

Assuming you are in Sydney, then the species are:

1. Striped Marsh Frog - Limnodynastes peroni
2. Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog - Litoria fallax
3. Possibly immature Dwarf Tree Frog - Litoria fallax though this one you should post to the forum for ID on Frogs.org.au to be sure

birdie
birdie's picture

Wow... we really started something!! Woohoo... I love frogs so thanks for all the lovely pics.
@ Amateur... is the last frog really tiny like less than an inch long? I have seen a few of those (or similar) hiding in yukkas and similar plants.. they are lovely.
Windhover... I have to say of course....beautiful shots especially like the first.

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Amateur

Yeah Birdie, it probably was around an inch in size, beautiful little frogs they are.

birdie
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Here are two tree frogs that I found in my collection taken up at Mon Repos and Woodgate



Sunshine Coast Queensland

edward
edward's picture

Birdie, thanks for setting up this topic...we're impressed by the number of frog lovers and the great photos!

Araminta, hope you are managing to find some of your frogs. We have seen heaps more frogs over the past week - we have to be careful not to step on them when we go walking (particularly at night). We had 4 on the path near our main dam the other night. Rain is forecast for later in the week here (Melb) so we'll probably see some more.

M&D

Wanda
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Great photos Birdie, green tree frogs are the best it is like they have a constant smile! Thanks for sharing and thanks for setting up this thread. I love frogs!

birdie
birdie's picture

Hey Wanda, you are welcome, I am loving seeing everyone's frogs...just wish I was able to see more but that would mean going on holiday again!! Hmm that wouldn't be too bad either :')

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Tassie

Nice shots Birdie....love the 2nd one.

birdie
birdie's picture

Yep ...he looks like an alien doesn't he? from memory when we did this once before , didn't you have some shots of frogs to share Tassie???

Sunshine Coast Queensland

birdie
birdie's picture

This is for Edward primarily.... I am very sorry to see that you have decided not to continue for the time being.
I for one will miss your input and loved your frogs etc. The input on this forum has changed from time to time over the last two years and it really does depend on who is around and prepared to input for a good cross section of contributors to exist. We can't grow it unless more people are prepared to do this and remember there are heaps of the "silent majority" out there who are reading but not "speaking". Instead of leaving I wish you would reconsider and still drop in and help others to learn and enjoy all you have to offer even if it is just from time to time. There will always be contentious issues and people will get heated at times, it is just human nature I guess, but I think the biggest problem is the lack of understanding of how the written word can be misconstrued and we can all learn from this.
Once again sorry to see you go and should you change your mind you would make my day !!!

Cheers to you both

Birdie

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Birdgirl2009
Birdgirl2009's picture

Hi birdie thought you would enjoy seeing this. My husband found it in his overalls (they were draped over a chair out the back). It's a young one - only 5-6 cm long.

birdie
birdie's picture

That is just lovely Birdgirl... I am glad you and I are left on here as everyone else seems to have vacated :(

I hear heaps of native frogs in the streams around here at the moment, but I never see one. At least hearing them is better than seeing those damned Cane Toads LOL
I went to a friend's house last night and they are around her front path and door like a pack of guard dogs!!!!

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Wanda
Wanda's picture

What a lucky find I wish I had those Green tree frogs at my place. Just lately I have had frogs jumping in my house coming up through the toilets so catch and release back into the garden. :-)

Araminta
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Morning girls, I'm still here,(or don't I count?). What an interesting toilet you've got Wanda...... Sometimes there is nothing to be said, unless someone says something controvercial? LOL

M-L

birdie
birdie's picture

LOL :') I know you are still there Araminta!!! Wanda I remember that toilet stuff from many years ago when I lived in the Kimberleys in W.A. I was straight out of NZ an had never seen anything before, ..... had to get used to frogs hanging in the toilet bowl, cockroaches the size of small birds running around the walls at night, Monitor lizards that I thought were crocodiles (duh!). Oh yes I have a very clear memory of walking back to my room in the hotel where I worked and finding a Frill necked Lizard basking on the only path in the sun.... needless to say I didn't get to my room. Our toilets were in a separate block and open to the evening visitors with louvre windows. There were many hurried and screaming exits as I came face to c=face with some of Australia's larger insect ( nothing that size should be allowed to belong to the insect family!!!!!LOL) life.

On a prettier note, there are so many butterflies around at the moment that I keep mistaking the beautiful large black velvety ones for birds.

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Wanda
Wanda's picture

What a great story Birdie and I can imagine what you thought when you arrived in the Kimberleys from NZ all those large and unusual wildlife. About the butterflies I have also noticed that there are a lot of butterflies around and when I was at Mt Buffalo in Vic there were hundreds flying around.

Birdgirl2009
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I remember at my primary school we had green tree frogs near the cisterns (which were high above the toilets). In the separate bathroom with sinks we had them around the downpipes and in the trough that ran around the room. I wish they still were as plentiful
birdie - you should be glad you didn't find a redback in the toilet or a snake curled up around it lol

Araminta
Araminta's picture

... or a huge Goanna in the dog kennel, like we did 2 years ago! Only to discover later, that what the Goanna was after was the Brownsnake , or the eggs the snake deposited onder the kennel. The dogs were lucky to be inside at the time, because it took us some time to get the Goanna out .( Napoleon, the Healer got bitten by a Tiger Snake, when he was a puppy, but survived!) ... Australia, don't we love it?

M-L

birdie
birdie's picture

Yep..... there was a time ( before my love affair with birds) that I would never have believed I would go through a rainforest area in Summer ( carefully I might add) and traipse through stream beds etc for a glimpse of anything, let alone a 12 cm brown bird!!! In fact, I can still remember when I was first on here and others were talking about LBBs and I was thinking to myself...huh? What is the attraction :')

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Wollemi
Wollemi's picture

Hi Everyone,

I just love frogs! But then I also love snakes, lizards, birds and gardening!

I have some frog pictures and will load them here soon. I am glad so many others are frog lovers too.

They are the eco-barometer of our earth. Happy healthy frogs = happy healthy earth!

Regards

Cheryl

Wollemi
Wollemi's picture

HI.

Here is the little perons tree frog that lives in a pot in my garden. he is ash grey all over with no coloured markings as peron's tree frogs usually have around the groin area, however the Australian Museum assures me it is a peron's tree frog.

photography by Letitia Hughes (c) 2011
reproduced here with her permission.

Wollemi
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Here is another shot of the perons tree frog.

photogrpahy by Letitia Hughes (c) 2011
reproduced with her permission.

birdie
birdie's picture

Lovely Wollemi and thank you for adding to our collection of amphibians here :')

Just a note , if you want to get your whole shot in then you need to
resize to 500 wide on the long edge for this forum.

Sunshine Coast Queensland

Wollemi
Wollemi's picture

Here are some more of my frog pics.

This fellow lived in the middle of a very dry paddock in the only place water could be found, 18metres down an artesian bore. When we pulled the pipes up to work on them he came to the surface for a ride.

This frog was trying to hitch a ride on a wombat! the wombat didn't have much to say about it.

by day this branch was home to a variety of small birds including the bluefaced honeyeaters, by night this frog took up residence!

All of these photos were taken by me at Dingo Qld.

Regards
Wollemi

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