#frogwatch

[earth-wyrms]

Hi FrogWatch members!

On behalf of the Frog Team at [my local zoo] I would like to thank you SO much for joining us for our volunteer training session. I would also like to congratulate you on officially passing the certification assessment! You are now a certified FrogWatch and FieldScope member.

Happy frog listening!

[ID in alt text]

[coffeetime88]

Nintendo Indie World Showcase April 2024

i can has video game? (Little Kitty, Big City)

Metroid Atari: Hack the Planet! (Yars Rising)

MBTI vs Enneagram (Refind Self: The Personality Test Game)

Etsy Shop: The Game (Sticky Business)

Wario Land HAMMER!!! (ANTONBLAST)

Frogwatch: Parkour Edition (Valley Peaks)

Silent Hill meets Myst (Lorelei and the Laser Eyes)

Journey 2: Fantasy Europe Edition (Europa)

TMNT Hades [but NO Couch Co-op!?! Then what's even the point of a Turtles game?] (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate)

The Legend of Kitty: Furball Waker (Cat Quest III)

Embroidery by Logic Puzzle (stitch.)

Infinite Dash Mode Unlocked (BZZZT)

"This episode of Bluey is called 'Shadowlands'" (SCHiM) [alt title: Dark Mode Frogger]

Strobe-imal Metroidvania (Animal Well)

MalL.A.rd Noir (Duck Detective: The Secret Salami)

Dark Souls 3's Swamp (Another Crab's Treasure)

"Somebody's Poisoned the Waterhole!" (SteamWorld Heist II)

[deciphered-narrator]

walking in the rain & frogwatch

[westernconnecticut]

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo Invites the Public to Join Citizen Scientist FrogWatch USA

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo invites residents to become Citizen-Scientist volunteers and participate in a “FrogWatch” census in area wetlands. In a collaboration between the Zoo, The Maritime Aquarium, and Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, volunteers will make regular visits to wetlands in their neighborhoods and keep a frog log to record the frog and toad calls they hear. Working with…

[prophecytoad]

The Beginning

Hi reader! Thanks for stopping by! This is the first post of my fortnightly blog. I plan for this blog to be a center for my game development journey, as well as for my perspectives on game design principles, problems, and frustrations. I hope that you will find the material in this blog to be enlightening!

Before we get into any of the good stuff, allow me to first introduce myself!

My name is Dan, but online I go by ProphecyToad. I named myself after my love for amphibians and my need to always plan ahead. As of writing this, I am a 28 year old, third year university student studying a Bachelor of Games and Interactive Environments, majoring in Game Design and minoring in Software Development.

Why do I play games?

Video games to me have always been a display of the beautiful minds of so many people, that have come together to create something that people can invest themselves into in their own unique ways.

I personally play video games for two main reasons: Emotional investment, and mechanical skill display. I love a game that is well written and has themes that can get me invested in the world and characters, but I love a game even more if it has a great deal of well-designed mechanical skill expression.

My history playing games

I’ve been playing video games since my earliest memory on the Windows 98 operating system, with classic games such as “Putt Putt saves the zoo”, “Tyrian 2000”, and “Doom”. Over the years since, I’ve played many different games, sometimes forgetting to do anything else for days at a time (oops).

I was introduced to competitive games as a teenager with the likes of Halo 3 and Guitar hero, and became absorbed by the idea of skill expression in video games. This interest carried me to other games such as Magic: The Gathering, League of Legends, and Rainbow Six Siege.

My Favourite Games

My top 3 favourite games + 1 nostalgia game as of writing this post

Monster Hunter World

This game at its core is simple: go on a mission -> kill/capture a monster -> make equipment from monster parts. The concept is extremely simple to understand, but is done VERY well; largely due to the exceptional combat and creature design. The game is built entirely around allowing the player to demonstrate their skill with incredibly well-paced combat.

Photo retrieved from https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/01/25/monster-hunter-world-review

Resident Evil: Biohazard

The only game in the last decade that I immediately replayed after finishing it, and intentionally unlocked all the achievements for; this game is a masterwork of its design. The levels, puzzles, and story of this game had me invested from start to finish. The game doesn’t try to be more complex than it needs to be, and instead makes use of the sparce systems and mechanics to add to the ambience of the game.

Photo retrieved from https://www.ign.com/games/resident-evil-7-biohazard

Halo

Now, I’m not going to get involved in the debate of which is the objective “best” Halo, but Halo has always been a highlight point for me whenever a new one released. Futuristic powersuit fantasy? Check. Shooting cool, but bad aliens? Check. Saving the universe? Check. What’s not to love?

Photo retrieved from https://www.ign.com/articles/halo-infinite-release-date-preorder

Nostalgia

Digimon World

The first game that I played that made me think, “I can’t wait to get back from school to play this!”. Digimon World combined my love for digital creatures and my love for adventuring into a neat little package with its own unique sense of style.

Retrieved from https://www.ign.com/games/digimon-world

 Check out this cool frog that I did a poster for in primary school: The Turtle Frog!

Photo retrieved from https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/frogwatch/frogs/turtle-frog

[wetlandwanderer]

Another citizen science project to look into for those interested in wetlands and amphibians is FrogWatch USA.

It’s a little intensive as it requires you to know and learn the calls of your local frog species and actually go out to conduct the surveys, but it’s important work to track frog populations over time that anyone with a little bit of free time can do.

Also once you know how to do it it’s a nice routine to take a walk out to your chosen site and do your weekly survey. And returning to it year after year really allows you to connect with the changing patterns of frog species and how the weather, climate, and local habitat may affect the presence and absence of different species in your area.

If you're feeling anxious or depressed about the climate and want to do something to help right now, from your bed, for free...

Start helping with citizen science projects

What's a citizen science project? Basically, it's crowdsourced science. In this case, crowdsourced climate science, that you can help with!

You don't need qualifications or any training besides the slideshow at the start of a project. There are a lot of things that humans can do way better than machines can, even with only minimal training, that are vital to science - especially digitizing records and building searchable databases

Like labeling trees in aerial photos so that scientists have better datasets to use for restoration.

Or counting cells in fossilized plants to track the impacts of climate change.

Or digitizing old atmospheric data to help scientists track the warming effects of El Niño.

Or counting penguins to help scientists better protect them.

Those are all on one of the most prominent citizen science platforms, called Zooniverse, but there are a ton of others, too.

Oh, and btw, you don't have to worry about messing up, because several people see each image. Studies show that if you pool the opinions of however many regular people (different by field), it matches the accuracy rate of a trained scientist in the field.

--

I spent a lot of time doing this when I was really badly injured and housebound, and it was so good for me to be able to HELP and DO SOMETHING, even when I was in too much pain to leave my bed. So if you are chronically ill/disabled/for whatever reason can't participate or volunteer for things in person, I highly highly recommend.

Next time you wish you could do something - anything - to help

Remember that actually, you can. And help with some science.

[blogjenlou]

FROGWATCH SKIPTON UPDATE 10/05/2024

[voenvs3000w24]

Frogs

This week, we were given the instruction to interpret something that we think is really amazing in Nature. I thought that it would be much easier to narrow it down, but to be honest, I’ve probably restarted this post at least three times with different ideas! That being said, if you can believe it, I finally decided and for this weeks blog post, we’re gonna look at an absolutely awesome frog that lives in Southern Ontario. Why? Because frogs are awesome. Introducing… the Spring Peeper. Spring Peepers are classified as treefrogs, and have a little x on their back (“Spring Peeper”, 2014). They are usually a beige green color (“Spring Peeper”, 2014). They are pretty small, and usually do not grow larger than 1.5 inches (“Spring Peeper”, 2014). They also have an adorable and very recognizable call! 

Spring Peepers live all across North America, but are concentrated in eastern North America (“Spring Peeper”, 2014). They live in six provinces, including Ontario and have a range that extends as far as Florida southward (“Spring Peeper”, 2014). Thair habitat consists of woodland ponds, brushy growth or woodlands, but they can basically live anywhere, as long as there is water (“Spring Peeper”, 2014). For my family, Spring Peepers always signalled the beginning of spring, as they are one of the first frogs that sing! I distinctly remember growing up when my dad would be driving and he would randomly pull over next to a pond and make us all listen for the Spring Peepers. I don’t know how to actually imbed the call of a spring peeper, but I will add a link to a recording at the bottom of the post. 

Unfortunately, this frog has started to disappear because of urbanization and habitat loss (“Spring Peeper”, 2014). If you are interested in learning more about either this frog, or other amphibians in Southern Ontario, there are some really interesting websites and videos on the internet! You can find them at almost any pond. I was going for a walk the other day, and I saw a few of them! Unfortunately (or fortunately) for them, they disappeared before I could try to take a photo of them, but they were absolutely adorable. 

Here are some more facts about frogs in general: there are 13 types of frogs in Ontario (Parks, 2022). They are classified as amphibians, so they are cold-blooded, have permeable skin and reproduce when they are in water (Parks, 2022). Female frogs lay their eggs in the water, and the male frog will fertilize them (Parks, 2022). This is known as external fertilization (Parks, 2022). So next time you go for a walk or see a pond, take a look and see if you can identify a Spring Peeper! There is a clip of a Spring Peepers call at https://www.naturewatch.ca/frogwatch/spring-peeper/. Just scroll down about halfway through the page, and you’ll hear it!

Citations

Parks, A. O. (2022, October 31). Are you friends with frogs?. Parks Blog. https://www.ontarioparks.ca/parksblog/creatures-of-the-night-frogs-toads/ 

Spring Peeper. FrogWatch. (2014, November 14). https://www.naturewatch.ca/frogwatch/spring-peeper/

[kdenvs3000w24]

I am back again to tell you about SOUNDS in nature!! I personally LOVE going to sit out and listening to the different calls of animals as we live our lives. From Cardinals calling to their mates to coyotes yelping in the night, this blog post is going to be about something I am silently passionate about (pun intended!)- interpreting nature through audible calls!

One thing I have learned to appreciate in nature is calls of animals and, since moving out to the country, I cannot help but appreciate frogs a lot more than I ever did. Pictured above is my own photo of a Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) that can be found quite abundantly where I live in southern Ontario. Their calls have a very distinct 'flutey trill' as described on the 'Frog Watch' website (have a listen!). When I initially heard them, I thought we just had some angry raccoons roaming in the trees but upon further inspection, these little guys were making a habitat in my pool! Given this information, the FrogWatch website provides excellent details regarding the amphibians we can see and hear in Ontario- have a peak and see if you can recognize any amphibians in your area!

Another distinct call, to me and I am sure to many others, is those of birds. Pictured below is a photo I took 10 years ago of a black-capped chickadee, feasting on some yummy seed in my hand! Chick-a-dees have a distinct call that, similar to Pokémon, mimics their name... "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee!" Another great reference for birds found in Ontario is found through the iNaturalist site, which can be used to identify birds via their distinct markings and calls as well as where they may be found.

On a side note, I do always interpret bird calls as the coming of Spring! Finally, when the sun is shining and the birds chirp and sing away, we can all have a deep breath once again that summer is on the way! You can also tell summer is coming with the call of Spring Peepers as they are often the first sound-identification that Spring is on the way!

One thing that DOESN'T make a sound, however, and it possibly one of my favourite things to talk about that genuinely intrigues me is owl feathers! While you may hear a Bluejay zapping by or a Hummingbird making its distinct 'hum' as it hovers, owls are required to be quiet in order to catch prey. Owls have very distinct feathers that allow them to be quiet as they flap through the night to catch mice and other rodents. Their feathers have a soft fur-like structure over the feather that, when flapping, provides a silencing effect. Pretty neat, eh?!

I'm sure I could go on for days and days about distinctive animal calls you can hear in nature! What are some of your favourite sounds to interpret in nature?

[fischotterkunst]

we use several of these apps at the nature center where i work! some other neat ones are Frogwatch USA and eBird! both are list-format apps for tracking sightings in your area of frogs and birds respectively :)

Apps for Local Biodiversity and Learning About Your Backyard

I had a few new things come across my feed, so I thought I'd put together a list.

If you have more, please share!

iNaturalist is the big one, of course. Best used if you already know your local flora and fauna

And it's child Seek is perfect for if you are trying to learn. It will identify stuff for you and you can share your observations to iNat to add to the resource pool there.

Wildflowers Search has a bunch of area-specific apps for the Americas. (Like, I have 'Pennsylvania Wildflowers' app. I don't know if it has all of the Americas covered, but it has specific apps for th Canadian provinces and Patagonia for sure). It gives you multiple choice options for color, type of plant, location of leaves, etc, and gives you a list of plants you might be looking at. Covers trees, grass, and other stuff, in addition to wildflowers. Pairs well with iNaturalist, IMO. And gives better 'about this plant' info than Seek.

Merlin is like a mix of Seek and Wildflower Search specifically for birds.

Owls Near Me is a website that runs off of iNat, and lets you see what owls have been spotted near you recently.

Falling Fruit is for urban forages. It lets people list locals of edible plants that can be found in a city. (Or, I assume, a town.) If you do ediable guerilla gardening or have a tree you don't mind folks eating from, you can add it to the map. Or add stuff you find in other places around you. Philly and NYC both have over 6,000 locations tagged. (There are other urban foraging tools, but falling fruit is the only one I've seen that maps worldwide.)

Anyone have other apps to add to the list?

[wetlandwanderer]

A handsome gal.

[roberette]

Remember when a few weeks ago that post went around that was like “HEY GUYS LOOK AT THIS NEW RABB.IT ALTERNATIVE” and the post got poplar and people flocked to it, and you’d test out the website and b like “Wow this looks well functioning, I should use this in the future!” and then a couple days later you’d go to the site and it was like “FrogWatch is down for maintenance, We will be back very soon.”

It’s been weeks and it’s still down.

[rwpzoo-blog]

On this World Frog Day, let’s take the time to celebrate the outstanding diversity of frogs around the globe. Amphibians are an important indicator species for healthy environments and a vital part of the food chain. But in many parts of the world, frog populations are declining, and many species are on the brink of extinction.

As Director of Conservation Programs for Roger Williams Park Zoo, I see the threats that face wildlife every day. Frogs are no exception. Habitat loss, over-collection for the pet trade, the introduction of non-native invasive species, road mortality, and now an infectious fungal disease have all led to what scientists are calling a global amphibian crisis.

RWP Zoo has been committed to frog conservation since the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) deemed 2007 “The Year of the Frog.” It became my job to see what our zoo could do to help with this crisis. Growing up, I was always fascinated with amphibians and reptiles, so this task was important not only to our institution, but to me personally.

I took this ball and ran, and since 2007, our work has contributed to the conservation of some of the world’s most critically endangered frog species. I traveled first to Panama in 2007, where habitat loss and the fungal disease were wiping out populations of frogs at an alarming rate. For many years, I worked with in-country partners to set up invertebrate breeding cultures to feed some of the most endangered Panamanian frogs being bred at rescue centers. The rescue centers were built to keep these frogs from going extinct, and at the time, were the only hope for many species in Panama and around the world.      

Our work there led to our current partnership with the San Antonio Zoo and Austral University in Valdivia, Chile. This project aims to set up labs in Chile for the captive breeding of critically endangered Chilean amphibians and the insect cultures needed to feed them. Many of the species we are and will be working with are endemic to Chile and found nowhere else in the world. These frogs are seriously threatened with extinction due to habitat loss from logging and agriculture, the introduction of non-native trout for sport fishing, and disease.

In January of this year, Dante Fenolio from the San Antonio Zoo Center for Conservation & Research and I traveled to Chile to oversee the delivery and setup of the first component of our lab complex. We also visited forested sites that are home to the only remaining populations of some of the most endangered species of Chilean frogs. We will concentrate on augmenting these populations and creating new populations with frogs raised in the labs.

While Rhode Island is not experiencing amphibian declines at this time, RWP Zoo offers an important opportunity for you to make a difference and contribute to amphibian conservation in our own backyards. FrogWatch is a citizen science program that uses volunteers to help biologists keep an eye on the health of our local populations of frogs and toads in neighborhood ponds and swamps.

Volunteers are taught to identify frog calls at a training session and commit to visiting an amphibian habitat once a week throughout the spring and summer to listen for calling frogs and toads. Data that is collected is shared with a national database of frog populations, local students, land managers, and state biologists. Trainings this year will be held on March 31 and April 6.

Together we can make our planet better for us and the species we share it with! HAPPY WORLD FROG DAY!

[gopu89]

Indirana Beddomii ( Beddome's Leaping Frog ) #Nikond780 + #Nikon40mm + #godoxtt685 + #radiantdiffuser #frogwatch #letsexplore #frogsofig #frogsofinstagram #froggy_explorers #froggo #froggie #beddomesleapingfrog #leapingfrog #indianwildlifeofficial #natgeowild #natgeo #macro #macrophotography #macromood #herpingtheglobe #herping #amphibian #amphibiansofinstagram #nikonindia #wwf #godoxindia #wildlifephotography #wildlifekerala (at Western Ghats Forest Range) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYHjACWvhTN/?utm_medium=tumblr

[authentikfilm]

Unterwasser mit @carameloconpicante_ @malte_paulsen @obeezy1985 #underwater #underwaterphotography #shooting #advertising @gshock_de #gshock #frogwatch #instagood #beauty #picoftheday #model #actress #snapshot #diving #blueworld #deepbluesee #makingof #knife #diver #behindthescenes #authentikfilm https://www.instagram.com/p/CKebD8fJWwP/?igshid=x9i9tn1kt44d