Frogs and Wetlands

A sure sign of spring is the songs of the frogs at every pond around this country.  I get a few complaints every year asking me if we couldn't fill in these tiny wetlands around Beiseker to shut the frogs up!  Short answer; no.

These tiny wetlands are very important to the ecology of this area.  They hold and slowly release a fairly large quantity of water.  They also provide home for a large variety of wildlife, including the noisy little frogs.

The most common of those frogs are Boreal Chorus Frogs - they're often called "Prairie Peepers" and they appear every spring after the water warms up a bit and releases them from the mud at the bottom of the pond.  They only have a few short weeks to define a territory, find a mate and reproduce before the pond dries up and they're forced to retreat back into the mud.  That's what all the noise is about.

I enjoy hearing the frog songs every spring from a small pond behind our home.  I know that those little critters are going to be eating mosquitoes and other bugs.  I also know that they and their tadpole offspring will provide food for other wetland critters so valuable to the prairie landscape.

They should quiet down in a little while as they continue through their cycle, so my advice is to enjoy the little songsters when you can!