Stories from the Field: Talking With Frogs

Photo Credit: Analee Davis

Written By: Andrew Connolly
​Late at night under the new moon, with not another human around, frogs talk and I listen. Now they might not be saying, “Hi, how are you?” or “Good evening and goodnight,” but they are telling me important things. 
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First, I get to learn their names. As I sit in silence taking in the peace of the pond, with dragonflies skipping off the surface and a lone owl calling in distance, they introduce themselves one by one. The males of a species produce a call unique to that species that they sing, and yell, and shout each spring and summer to attract a partner. It could be the deep cry of a Fowler’s Toad, or the raspy quack of a Wood Frog. It might be a long trill, that of the American Toad, or a short trill, like the Gray Tree Frog. They speak their species name and I record it. 

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Next, they tell me how many there are. While listening to the chorus of voices raised in song, I start to count. Is that one lone American Bullfrog calling out from a log I hear? What is that cacophony of noise? It is a full chorus of Spring Peepers! I hear two Wood Frogs in call and response. I count and sum each and see who each night is here.

​And at the end of the season, they tell me goodbye. Sitting by the pond with the harvest moon overhead, I strain to listen for a friend still around. Over the summer one by one the calls fell silent, as each frog slipped away, found a mate, and moved on. I now know when they each leave at the seasons end, and I wait to greet them again in the spring, each like a friend.