Gray Tree Frogs (Hyla versicolor)
By Corey • July 3, 2008 • 6 commentsRecent visits to Jamaica Bay, in addition to providing a wealth of bird sightings, have allowed me to see some Gray Tree Frogs (Hyla versicolor) up close and personal. They are particularly likely to be found hiding in cracks and crevices in the bird blind at Big John’s Pond, a fact I read quite some time ago in a post by The City Birder. So now every time I make my way over to the blind to look for Barn Owls I take a moment or two to see if the frogs are present and visible.
Gray Tree Frogs, according to Wikipedia, are also known as North American common tree frogs, and can change color from their namesake gray to a light green, but much more slowly than a chameleon. The underside of the frogs’ legs is a bright orange-yellow, but one can typically only observe this coloring if one has a frog in hand or manages to get a good look at one jumping. They are widespread over the United States and Canada, and can be found almost everywhere in New York State.
Apparently, they also make easy-to-care-for pets, though we here at 10,000 Birds actively discourage people removing creatures from the wild, no matter how cute they may be.
So the next time you are at Jamaica Bay, or, for that matter, any wet, forested area in North America, keep an eye out for these easy-to-hear-but-usually-difficult-to-see frogs. You won’t regret it!
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Cool Corey - next time I’m in NY I want to see one (not as much as I want to see a Saltmarsh Sparrow of course, but quite a lot!)…
“Gray Tree Frogs, according to Wikipedia, are also known as North American common tree frogs”
Ha! That’s ridiculous. Never heard that one before.
These are great frogs (my favorite NY species). I should post a few of my own pictures.
~ Nick
Gray Tree frogs are my All time favorite frogs! My alarm in the morning is of the Gray Tree Frog calling! Nick, only known them as Gray Tree Frog!
I was picking raspberries yesterday, in central KY, and saw two tiny, tiny frogs, about the size of my fingernail. I don’t know what they are, and with this crummy rural dialup I’m not going looking for them. One of my very favoritest tho, some look as if they have been sprinkled with gold dust. They are beautiful in a shaft of sunlight. They were close together on the same leaf, Mr. and Mrs. Frog I reckon. The day was humid and the house was cool, so there was no point in getting the camera, the lens would have fogged immediately. I don’t know why, but the thought of a clean dry cloth eluded me at the time. Nearby on another leaf, tucked up under an overhanging leaf, was a Gray Tree Frog. Time to pick the berries again, camera ready this time. Thanks for the post, rb
i found one of these guys in hampden, yesterday on the garage door. it sat on my hand and didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere. I finally convinced him to jump off onto the rock wall. He must eat well, he was full-figured compared to some of the pics i’ve seen.
Spring/Summer 2008 must be year of the grey tree frog here in Pennsylvania, because I came across some 15 frogs this evening. I captured most of them on the roadways surrounding my community and released them back into a wildlife reserve a mile or two from my home. I returned home only to find 4 more grey tree frogs hanging around the front porch light awaiting dinner (moths). In the past several years these frogs were no where to be found. I find it quite perplexing as to why so many have been found around our home this year. I’m guessing a wet Spring brought about a lot of mating, and this is the reason I’m spotting so many. Lovely little creatures to observe and study.