I looked out my kitchen window this evening and noticed a little gray blob on the roof of the shed that is directly across the yard. Keep in mind that I stare out at this shed twice a day, every day, so it stood out. (Find it yet? Roof's edge just above the top right corner of the doors.) It's not what you might think. But having past experience of spotting little gray blobs on this shed from the same window, I did have a pretty good idea what it was. Binoculars confirmed it; a chair put me practically eye to eye with the little gray blob.
Hello, handsome.
Gray Tree Frog. No idea which flavor, Northern or Southern, even though Southern is rare (endangered/threatened species kind of rare) and should probably be reported to the appropriate authorities. Most living things at the very-most edges of their ranges tend to be rare, with or without declining availability of suitable habitat... My yard and the surrounding acres seem to have proven to be quite suitable habitat for these critters this year, if the multiple scattered calls around the place this spring and early summer were any indication. This shed has turned out to be one of the best places for actually spotting gray tree frogs without having to track them down by their calls. (Which I have yet to successfully do anywhere. I have, however, once been lucky enough to spot one when it jumped from one branch to another in a tree!)
Last year's looked-out-the-window-and-saw-the-frog. (There were actually two there that day.) I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the shed is Gray Tree Frog gray? (And shaded; the other shed of identical color, although larger, is usually in full sun and has yet to host a tree frog that I've seen.)
If I am ever able to record their calls, someone else can then time said calls and factor in temperature and humidity in order to figure out which gray tree frogs I have. So long as the frogs know...
