NEW JERSEY PINE BARRENS FROGS

     Bottomlands of the New Jersey Pine Barrens are mostly forested with pitch pines, and other kinds of pine trees, and red maple, black gum and pin oak trees.  Fallen needles and leaves of these trees make the waters of the barrens bottomlands tea-colored and acidic.  Plants and aquatic animals must adapt to that acidic water to survive in the barrens.   

     A variety of wildlife inhabits those bottomlands, including gray tree frogs, upland chorus frogs, carpenter frogs and pine barrens tree frogs.  These small, nocturnal frogs have characteristics in common, because of their relatedness, and the habitat they share.  They are all attractive in a camouflaged way.  They all ingest a variety of invertebrates.  They grow from tadpoles in the shallow, acidic ponds of the pine barrens.  All these species hibernate underwater through winter.  They spawn in shallow water.  They are mostly wild, mysterious voices in the night, as they are seldom seen.  But they herald warm weather.  And both genders of all species have external ear drums that are attuned to the vocalizing of the males of each individual's kind.    

     These amphibian voices are exciting to hear in the enchanted pine barrens bottomlands during spring and summer, helping make those barrens full of intriguing life.  Knowing the charming voices of the male frogs coaxing females of their respective kinds into shallow water to spawn will identify each species, and indicate where they are.

     Male upland chorus frogs utter a short trill that resembles a thumb nail repeatedly sliding up the teeth of a plastic comb, which is a unique, unmistakable sound in nature.  To me, their calling is peaceful, beautiful and perhaps a bit melancholy.  These chorus frogs are mostly brown with darker markings that blend them into their surroundings.

     Gray tree frogs are mostly gray, with darker markings, that blend them into their preferred habitat of tree bark on deciduous trees.  There they don't have to compete with other frogs for invertebrates.  In June, males of this type emit a short, fluttering trill two or three times a minute.  Their trilling is beautifully melodic.

     Groups of male carpenter frogs, in shallow water, utter calls that sound like several carpenter hammering at once.  That calling is another unique sound in nature.  These frogs are olive-brown with beige striping from behind their eyes to their hips.  

     Pine barrens tree frogs are mostly green, with a maroon stripe on each flank.  The males of this kind utter a weak, nasal honk, repeated about once a second.  This species inhabits bushes where they hunt invertebrates to ingest. 

     These small frogs' voices add charm and beauty to the New Jersey Pine Barrens during warmer months.  And they help make the intriguing barrens enchanting, and inspiring to visit.   

       

            

       

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