We are barely 2 weeks into March and the first signs of spring are already popping out whenever and wherever they can.
So far both me and my brother have each seen 1 butterfly on the wing over the weekend and Saturday I was treated to one of the most distinctive and enjoyable sounds of nature, a chorus of, well, chorus frogs enthusiastically singing their little hearts out.
It sounds odd to say that I have already seen a butterfly on the wing and heard chorus frogs singing because only 4 days ago it was snowing and there was ice in the backyard birdbath up until a couple days ago.
But this past weekend I spent a few hours at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center at Farmington Bay and low and behold, Haley Pace, the outreach coordinator for the center showed me a chorus frog that was hopping around the center grounds early that afternoon.
I literally had no idea chorus frogs were that small.
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Last year while at Farmington Bay, I was able to record a short video clip of chorus frogs singing along the nature trail and, truthfully, I am not an amphibian expert by any means but I was shocked to learn how such a small frog can sing so loud and be heard so far away.
(Chorus Frogs at Farmington Bay. For short nature clips like this one and interesting stories about the natural world around us, check out our Bear River Blogger channel on YouTube for videos and updates from our travels while out in nature.)
In early spring once the ice melts and there’s open water, the male chorus frog starts singing for a couple of weeks or so to attract a mate.
It’s quite a distinctive sound and when you realize just how small chorus frogs are it is even more impressive.
Chorus frogs here in Utah can be found in wetland areas along the Wasatch Front.
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Personally, I’ve most commonly heard chorus frogs at Farmington Bay along the nature trails but I have also crossed paths with their distinctive singing up near the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and in agricultural drainage ditches with standing open water.
So it’s time to get out and enjoy nature once again because spring is not far off and this is the time of year when nature is at its best, birds are migrating in almost daily, butterflies will be emerging soon, frogs are singing, and all of this without the pesky mosquitos or biting horseflies to boot.
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