Herping in December

On December 14^th of last year, with temperatures hovering around 0 degrees Celsius, my friend Jon and I participated in the Minden Christmas Bird Count in Haliburton County.

Christmas Bird Counts monitor winter bird populations across the continent by collecting data from standardized circles in 24-hour periods. We were stopped at a roadside culvert near Kinmount, listening for tree sparrows, when we spotted a frog in an outflow area. At first, we thought it was dead – as it was lying on its back, but after a few seconds of observation, we noticed its legs were slowly kicking. It eventually righted itself, allowing us to identify it was a green frog. Despite finding some excellent birds that day, this was by far our favorite observed species.

Later that month, on December 27^th, Jon and I teamed up again to assist with the Petroglyphs Christmas Bird Count, north of Peterborough. It was a pleasant day to be out in the field, with temperatures above freezing. While walking the Sandy Lake Road, east of Stony Lake, we again stopped at a culvert flowing into Sandy Lake to look and listen for birds. We were treated to a bald eagle and a couple of common redpolls.

Then, Jon spotted a frog sitting on the ice, immediately adjacent to the culvert. Not surprisingly, it was very easy to capture, and sat calmly in my hands absorbing my body heat while Jon photographed it with his phone. This time, the unexpected amphibian was a mink frog. After photographing it, we released the frog back onto the ice, where it immediately jumped into open water and disappeared.

Jon Boxall took this photo of a mink frog found during a Christmas Bird Count in Peterborough County.

Winter sightings of reptiles and amphibian are not unheard of in central Ontario. Examples include mudpuppies caught while ice-fishing, and spotted salamanders seen wandering on snow. But our winter frog sightings were still a thrill.

In both cases, there was very little open water present, just tiny pools by culvert outflows. Were these frogs lingering in the frigid but oxygenated waters below the culverts on purpose? Could the flowing water have unearthed the frogs from hibernation sites in mud? Whatever the reason, I would never have expected to observe them at this time of year. A thrill indeed!

Ed Poropat, a biologist and area coordinator for the Ontario Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, frequently ventures into nearby woods and wetlands with his friend, Jon Boxall, in search of wild critters.

Ed Poropat, a biologist and area coordinator for the Ontario Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, frequently ventures into nearby woods and wetlands with his friend, Jon Boxall, in search of wild critters.