#landscapery

[rynezion]

november 🍂❄

[wetlandwanderer]

“Rot, decay, infection. That feeling of your skin crawling or itching, being touched by something that might burrow inside you. Swarming and hollowing you out. Leaving you full of holes.” -MAG111

[stonehouseartifacts]

Magical Landscapery @lucianogiubbileigardens #stonehouseartifacts #magical #inspirational #landscapery #lucianogiubbilei

[theabsintheart]

speeddraw landscapery by theabsintheart

[j0turner]

Having a little play with a landscape from my morning run. Don’t usually do landscapery, so learning & enjoying the process 😊 #landscapepainting #experimentation #oilpainting #afunnycloudkindofmorning (at Studio 33, North Maleny) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxETGO3BYri/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zk63kk9d57vn

[guywithbotheyes]

these are a few of my favorite things...

in no particular order -

textures

grids

rust

architecture, old & new

japan

type & graphics

unexpected fashion

black & white photography

graffiti

food, especially dessert

jazz

music, generally

ridiculousness of republicans

imposition of composition

handsomeness

brut strength

irony, sarcasm, wit

haiku

landscapery

art, fine and fun

::

it’s all here, as seen through both eyes

guywithbotheyes

and the one-eye archives:

guywithaneye

[agetattoo]

Arizona Desert Landscapery 🌵Some of my favorite stuff to make Thank you Liz for always getting the raddest ideas Would love to do more like this #agetattoo (at Rosita's Fine Mexican Food)

[incurable]

Mt. St. Helens from McClellan viewpoint.  Early fall.

[wetlandwanderer]

New field journal means I get to paint the cover.

[wetlandwanderer]

Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata)

Today’s post is dedicated to the chorus frogs, of which there are many. Due to the amount of different species in the US (12 in total not including Spring Peepers) I decided to split them up based on appearance and similarity of call.

We begin with the Boreal Chorus Frog today as it is the most widespread of the 3 species we’ll discuss. It can be found as far north as the Northwestern Territories in Canada, as far south as New Mexico and North Texas, as far west as Idaho, and as far east as New Hampshire. This range is the main aspect that defines it as it sounds and looks almost identical to 2 other species of chorus frog.

Two of the other more common species of chorus frog are the Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triserium) and the Upland Chorus Frog (Pseudacris ferarium). These two species physically have the same tan backs, pale underbellies, and dark streaking that the Boreal Chorus Frog has along with the same distinctive dark eye mask that most chorus frogs possess.

Auditory-wise all three sound identical with a trill similar to the sound of someone pulling back the bristles of a comb. When in groups it can almost sound like bells which often gets them mistaken for Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer). This is why, similar to the situation with cricket frogs, your location at the time of observation is really important when identifying these species.

The Western Chorus Frog, contrary to its name, has the most east range of these species. While it used to be thought to extend well into the lower midwest and some of the Great Plains region, those populations were discovered to actually be Boreal Chorus Frogs. Now this species is known to mostly occupy Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio with some populations in northern Kentucky, eastern Illinois, and western Pennsylvania.

On the other hand the Upland Chorus Frog is found pretty exclusively in the southeastern US extending from west Texas to New Jersey. There is some overlap of course amongst all of these such as southern Indiana and Pennsylvania for crossover between the upland and western species, and southern Missouri for the boreal and upland species, but for the most part location will narrow down which species you’ve found.

[wetlandwanderer]

“It’s just pure violence, not targeted or premeditated, just...unpredictable violence. And you don’t know when, or even if it’s coming.” - MAG111

[wetlandwanderer]

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi)

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog, and cricket frogs in general are among my favorite species due to their interesting call. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans), but has since been designated as a separate species.

There are currently 3 distinct species of cricket frog in the US. All of which are found east of the Rockies. All three look and sound extremely similar which means location is a significant factor in identifying this particular frog.

Physically cricket frogs can be many colors, brown, green, grey, or any mix of the above, their distinguishing traits include their somewhat warty appearance and the triangle marking between their eyes that points down their back. They may also have a messy streak of color down their back often either green or brown.

All cricket frogs have a distinctive call that sounds like two metal ball bearings or marbles hitting against each other. It will often start out slow before building up as other frogs join. The call of the Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus) is slightly different in that it has a harsher and slightly slowed down tone more similar to when you shake a can of spray paint. However, this can vary by individual which is why location matters so much with these frogs.

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog is found the farthest west of any of the species and are found through much of the Great Plains and Ozark regions. They reach as far north as Wisconsin and then go east to Michigan and Ohio. They are not found in the Southeast as their range only reaches as south as Tennessee.

The Northern Cricket Frog’s range starts at the edge of the Blanchard’s extending across the east coast from Louisiana to just south of New York. They are not found in Florida, however. The Southern Cricket Frog on the other hand is found in Florida and has the smallest range of the cricket frogs being found along the east coast from Mississippi to southern Virginia.

[wetlandwanderer]

American Toad (Anaxyrus americana)

One of the more common and generally known amphibians in the US, I thought the American Toad may be a good place to start concerning frog call identification.

This species’ call is a relatively distinctive long lasting trill that I’ve often related to the idea of a cartoonish UFO tractor beam or ray gun. When multiple toads are calling they harmonize at different notes and hold the sound.

Physically most people will recognize the American Toad though it can be easily mistaken for the Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) in the regions the two overlap. Hybridization between the two species can muddy the waters further, though some good clues that it may be an American Toad include it having no more than 1 or 2 warts in the dark spots on its back and its chest/belly being speckled.

Fowler’s Toads also have a very different call that’s much shorter and is more of a scream or “waaaaah” that lasts less than 5 seconds. 

Both are found pretty exclusively in the Eastern US, though the range of the American Toad extends more north into Canada while the Fowler’s Toad is found further south into Florida.

[wetlandwanderer]

Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)

Today I’m going to be focusing on leopard frogs, specifically the Northern Leopard Frog as that’s what I have a recording of, however, I will put some information on the calls and ranges of all of the species of leopard frog found in North America (in addition to the Pickerel Frog).

The call of all leopard frogs have an overarching similarity in that they are often described as having a chuckle or hiccup like quality. The Northern Leopard Frog specifically has one of the longer calls in that it can be described as a long snore interrupted by short repeated hiccups or chuckles. When multiple of these frogs are together the snore can be lost and what is left is a jumble of overlapping hiccups (as can be heard in the recording). 

The two most similar calls in this group that it could be mistaken for would be the Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) and the Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris), but for two different reasons. The Northern and Southern Leopard Frogs both have the same chuckle quality to their calls that characterizes most of the leopard frogs, however the southern species’ call is much shorter and higher pitched with a sound interspersed throughout that sounds almost like someone rubbing a balloon. In comparison the pickerel’s call is more similar to the long snore that can often be heard from the northern species just without the chuckles throughout. 

The Southern and Northern Leopard Frogs do not inhabit the same region for the most part as the Southern Leopard Frog is found everywhere south of Iowa and New Jersey. The Northern Leopard Frog’s range on the other hand extends from the southern edge of the Northwest Territories in Canada south to Iowa and north Kentucky and then west to Arizona, Nevada, and north California. It is by far the most pervasive species with the largest range amongst the leopard frogs.

The Pickerel is found everywhere east of Kansas and south of Quebec, with the exceptions of being found in east Texas and not being found through most of Illinois. The only other species of leopard frog the Northern Leopard Frog crosses over with otherwise is the Plains Leopard Frog, who thankfully has both a distinctive call and appearance that set it apart.

Physically leopard frogs look pretty similar, thankfully there is not a lot of crossover between most of their ranges, but for the species that do inhabit similar ranges here are some of the species specific traits to keep an eye out for. Pickerel Frogs specifically crossover with all four leopard frog ranges, so something to look for is the bright yellow coloration on the inner thighs of their hind legs. The other two species that have crossover with others are the Plains Leopard Frog (Lithobates blairi) and the Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Lithobates berlandieri), found respectively in the Great Plains regions north of Texas and east Texas south to Nicaragua. These two species have a broken dorsolateral fold. This is the ridge that goes down the sides of all leopard frogs unbroken, however, near the hind legs on these two species the ridge is split instead of being a straight line. 

Their calls are also some of the most distinctive in the group as the Plains Leopard Frog’s call is more of a short “chuck” or 3 cut off laughs in a row, while the Rio Grande Leopard Frog’s call is much deeper then the other species and is in the form of short rapid trill that sound almost like someone rubbing a balloon but slowed down. 

Since leopard frogs are one of the more recognized groups of frogs that many are pretty much guaranteed to run into at least sometime while in the US, I hope this expanded on some of their more distinctive traits for future observations.

[wetlandwanderer]

I’ve started painting field journals for people in the wildlife department, and while yes people are paying me to do it, what they’re really providing me is excuses to listen to podcasts since I need something mindless to do while I’m listening.

[wetlandwanderer]

I volunteered to do a wetland themed sketch as a thank you gift for a guest speaker in my wildlife management class.

It ended up being a bit more than a sketch, but I thought I’d share it.