Saturday, May 11, 2013

Northern Leopard Frog at the Spring Valley Freshwater Fen

It's easy to see where this Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) got its name. It's covered in spots just like a leopard. I photographed the cute little frog two weeks ago at the Spring Valley Wildlife Area when Paul Krusling and I were there searching for Spotted Turtles. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had no luck finding the Spotted Turtles, but spotted frogs were a whole other story...

A Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens)
Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) at Spring Valley Wildlife Area. This frog and several others were at the freshwater fen. 
I had never seen the small freshwater fen at Spring Valley. It's beautiful...hidden and off the beaten path, it was a haven for these little Northern Leopard Frogs.

Northern Leopard Frog hiding in the leaf litter in the freshwater fen at Spring Valley Wildlife Area.


Close up of a A Northern Leopard Frog's face...
...closeup of a Northern Leopard Frog's face.

13 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Kelly, I have never seen a Northern Leopard Frog before--but he's a colorful little guy... Sorry you didn't find the turtles you were looking for -but glad you found that frog.

Hugs,
Betsy

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful Frog, and you got it strong, I love it Kelly.

eileeninmd said...

What a cute frog, great shots!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Nice shots- don't think I have seen this one before.

Jenny said...

That's one handsome frog Kelly. I'm sure he'd turn into one handsome prince too! (-: Sounds like a great place.

Janice K said...

Such beautiful markings....I bet he is lots smaller than your pictures make him appear. Very nice.

Elaine said...

Exquisite shots, Kelly! You can have the best of plans, but Nature doesn't always cooperate. Funny thing is the unexpected finds are usually the best. Happy Mother's Day!

Chris said...

Excellent Kelly.. This is something I miss here in Iceland, no frogs!! Well no snake neither which is good....

Montanagirl said...

Very pretty - and dashing looking fellow (for a frog!!) lol

Kathie Brown said...

Kelly, nice photos. It reminds me of catching frogs when I was a child. We never kept them, we always let them go.

Tammie Lee said...

season of the frog. we have a leopard frog here, i believe it is more golden. so lovely to see your photos. I am enjoying finding a frog here or there, later there will be many.

lovely weekend to you Kelly

Kelly said...

...thanks, everyone! It was a treat watching this little frog. I don't get to see Leopard Frogs very often. I mostly catch sight of Green and Bull frogs...

Banjo52 said...

Apropos of nothing, except the color black, maybe, I saw my first Black Vulture in Mohican State Park (near Mansfield, in north-central Ohio) about a month ago. The only bird book I checked said they did not get much north or east of the Dayton-Cincinnati area. Was I just lucky, or is there newer, better info on Black Vultures’ locales?