Then after dark the real frogs get chirruping. A little louder, but still a restful noise, a lulling lullaby. The string quartet. We do like our frogs. A good noise, the sound of the sea rolling peacefully in, and out, or a river flowing by.
This frog was photographed at night
We think it is the Cape River Frog - Amietia fuscigula. Passmore and Carruthers in S A Frogs say - 'In large still bodies of water. Males usually call from deep water, supporting themselves on floating vegetation'.
But we also have something the Afrikaans calls a brulpadda and we call a raucous toad. And lives up to every nuance of his name. The cannon shots of the 1812 Overture. We have seen one sitting just outside our bedroom window, where he can make full use of the resounding echo reverberating off the walls and the rainwater tank. Bit like trying to sleep while a toddler bangs pot lids together, just NEXT TO YOUR EAR!!! In May we will have been in this house 3 years, and this is the first time the frogs have been DEAFENING. In desperation, we sometimes have to close one window. But the heavy metal, rock concerts are reserved for full moon nights. We did want the wildlife to be friendly, and use the pond to survive and thrive.
The Ungardener is attached to his new camera. Sweating blood at first, because it wouldn't focus. (Watch this space, day by day, the pictures are coming together. From - WHY won't it FOCUS to …)
Wagtails and a Cape Laughing Dove with Canon 130 mm zoom
The wagtails came. First a pair who were here each evening. Then a youngster, who later came alone, with a limp, and has subsequently not been seen. This was the best we could achieve with the Canon and a simple zoom.
Wagtail with Fuji 400 mm zoom
The other evening I saw the parents again, coming for their usual evening bathe. And called the Ungardener to try out the new zoom on the Fuji.
Wagtails two
Then called him again, for now there were FOUR! I think it might have been the first time the youngsters came to the beach. First I heard much lively chattering, then went to see what all the excitement was about?!
Wagtail kids at the beach!
Photos by Jurg,
and words by Diana of Elephant's Eye
LOL, EE, I too have been searching out my favorite Blotanical reads and adding them to my blogroll. (I just added yours!)
ReplyDeleteLove the photos of the frogs. I too get very excited about frogs in the garden! I don't have a cat, but my pup (a dachshund) loves to eat frogs and becomes deathly ill. We have to watch her closely in the garden.
Hi Diana! Your frog is wearing a trendy animal print outfit. I like it. I
ReplyDeleteI love frogs, but I know what you mean about them being deafening at times! Living out in the country, at night the same thing happens here...
ReplyDeleteCyndy, Floridagirl, Tatyana, Kyna - I'm so glad to know there are still Blotanists out there, even if Blotanical has vanished off the face of the earth. Please, come back.
ReplyDeleteDear Diana, You are clearly surrounded with wild life which, although a litlle annoying at times, is so very wonderful. I cannot imagine what it must be like to go to bed to the sound of the croaking frogs. Just occasionally a single, tiny silent frog appears in the garden. I know not where from.
ReplyDeleteDiana, The frogs we are most likely to hear here are tree frogs known as "peepers." They have a high-pitched peep that sounds a lot like crickets chirping. A whole chorus of them can get quite loud though. The mother of a family who have a screened-in porch converted into a summer bedroom for their children told me that one of her little girls once called to her in the night and said, "Mommy, I can't get to sleep; could you turn down the peepers?"
ReplyDeleteFollowing your lead, I have been setting up my Google Reader subscription list today. What I'm finding works best for me is to let Google Reader identify the new posts for me, but then click on the link to get the full blog to open in another window.