Hi there, and welcome to the Frog Blog! This blog will be about my work with the endangered Oregon spotted frog, which is currently teetering on the brink of extirpation (local extinction) in Canada, as well as other local amphibians.
The work year flows around funding cycles, and we’re just revving up for the 2010/2011 window. We’re waiting for funding announcements right now, and as soon as we hear (hopefully in the affirmative) we’ll be off to the races.
In my world, May means planning and scheduling. Once funding agreements are finalized, I need to plan for summer field surveys, get landowner agreements into place, design habitat works and build permit applications. We also need to get out in the field to survey land and train new staff.
There’s not a lot of frog-catching right now, as the last of the tadpoles hatched out of their eggs about a month ago, and are hopefully growing in the wetlands. In June we’ll be conducting surveys to assess invasive species populations (bullfrogs and green frogs) in habitats where we find Oregon spotted frogs as well as in potential introduction habitats.
I hope that you find this blog interesting and entertaining, and that you’ll share it with friends. We hope to raise the profile of this interesting creature and the struggles for amphibians even in your backyard.
Speaking of amphibians in your backyard, yesterday evening I heard and saw a Pacific Chorus Frog (tree frog) in Vancouver. This frog lives in a rain-water pond in a friend’s backyard in the middle of the city. He has found a watery refuge in the city, and has apparently been heard for many years. Here’s to hoping he found a partner this spring!
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