Sprig Peeper tads?

[Bill B]

Where does one look in a wetland for Spring Peeper tads? I know a wetland that has hundreds calling, even a lot just a week ago. Wetland is mostly cattails, up to 3-4 feet deep, some shallower areas with thck grass

[Crystal6]

Where does one look in a wetland for Spring Peeper tads? I know a wetland that has hundreds calling, even a lot just a week ago. Wetland is mostly cattails, up to 3-4 feet deep, some shallower areas with thck grass

I have yet to find spring peeper tadpoles (as they are very small) but I have found eggs which hatched into said tadpoles.

I generally find them in ditches but I have also seen them in puddle and heard of people who have found them in ponds.

[Kurt]

Where does one look in a wetland for Spring Peeper tads? I know a wetland that has hundreds calling, even a lot just a week ago. Wetland is mostly cattails, up to 3-4 feet deep, some shallower areas with thck grass

I would get a dip net and go there.

[Bill B]

I would get a dip net and go there.

Oops, I suppose. I went there about a week and a half ago and did not find any. I suppose I meant, where in the wetland should I look?

How do you get a signature?

[Kurt]

Just scoop around in the water especially around the plants.

Edit you profile, there is an option there for a signature.

[Bill B]

I would get a dip net and go there.

Well, I waded throught there yesterday and could not find a single tad. It seems Crystal found a tad in wetland in Maine.

What kind of dip net should I use? Can you recommend one? Something more "professional"? I just use a $1 butterfly net. I did find several invertebrates and some tiny, tiny fish. I heard the Jim McGrath, a naturalist here in Michigan, say that if you hear Spring Peepers, you hear them saying "There are no fish here!". I guess he meant larger fish.

[Deku]

Well, I waded throught there yesterday and could not find a single tad. It seems Crystal found a tad in wetland in Maine.

What kind of dip net should I use? Can you recommend one? Something more "professional"? I just use a $1 butterfly net. I did find several invertebrates and some tiny, tiny fish. I heard the Jim McGrath, a naturalist here in Michigan, say that if you hear Spring Peepers, you hear them saying "There are no fish here!". I guess he meant larger fish.

Thats too big for a net... I would just get a large dip net from the store. OR you could make your own. Take the butter fly net and take the "net" out. Then get some mesh and just strap the sides on and use that. Make sure the mesh is very long. :P so you can make sure you get the tads. The mesh should have small small holes. Like the size of a dot.

[Bill B]

Thats too big for a net... I would just get a large dip net from the store. OR you could make your own. Take the butter fly net and take the "net" out. Then get some mesh and just strap the sides on and use that. Make sure the mesh is very long. :P so you can make sure you get the tads. The mesh should have small small holes. Like the size of a dot.

Well, the holes are VERY small. I am quite sure no tads would go throught. The holes are about the size of those of an aquarium net.

The weird thing is, I looked a lot, and found almost nothing, even though there were hundreds calling.

[Crystal6]

Well, the holes are VERY small. I am quite sure no tads would go throught. The holes are about the size of those of an aquarium net.

The weird thing is, I looked a lot, and found almost nothing, even though there were hundreds calling.

Spring peepers are very loud. I have heard them calling in empty fields with no water.

Thus I imagine pinpointing them by sound would be both pretty painful, and pretty difficult.

[Deku]

Spring peepers are very loud. I have heard them calling in empty fields with no water.

Thus I imagine pinpointing them by sound would be both pretty painful, and pretty difficult.

You find them everywhere. Sadly where I used to work at, it had a huggggge pond that is not on their property and at night all sorts of frogs and toads sing there. Sad part is I cant go there on account id look like an idiot if caught. :P And n o car. XDDD

[Bill B]

Spring peepers are very loud. I have heard them calling in empty fields with no water.

Thus I imagine pinpointing them by sound would be both pretty painful, and pretty difficult.

Oh, I meant that finding the tads is very difficult. I found a male this spring and kept it.

[Bill B]

You find them everywhere. Sadly where I used to work at, it had a huggggge pond that is not on their property and at night all sorts of frogs and toads sing there. Sad part is I cant go there on account id look like an idiot if caught. :P And n o car. XDDD

Well, do you mean tads or calling males?

[Kurt]

Being a very small species in stature, I am willing to bet since you found fish there, you won't find tadpoles. Find some vernal pools and see what you can scoop out of them. Last year I managed to scoop out a spotted salamander larva, that I raised up. The damn thing is huge now!

[Bill B]

Being a very small species in stature, I am willing to bet since you found fish there, you won't find tadpoles. Find some vernal pools and see what you can scoop out of them. Last year I managed to scoop out a spotted salamander larva, that I raised up. The damn thing is huge now!

That was one wetland - in a forest. The fish were probably Gambusia. I understand that they are there probably to reduce mosquito populations.

In the other two wetlands I saw now fish. They are one the outskirts of forests.

[Bill B]

BTW, I finally caught what I am pretty sure are Spring Peeper tads. Found a pond where I heard quite a bit of peeping. Since I had already did som sweeps near the edges of ponds like that, I figured they must be near the center or deepest part. And, since the water level receeded quite a bit since then, they must be concentrated. And there was little vegetations to get in the way of my flimsy butterfly net - just what appeared to be 'grass' growing from the bottom of the pond. And, since I didn't see them, I figured they must be right at or just under the loose leaves at the bottom. So I some deep swoops with a butterly net. Success at last! Yay! I think I'll try to raise them to sexaul activity size. Seems if I didn't get some mud from the bottom, I didn't get them. 7 tads, about 1.5 - 2 ".

[John]

It's very late for Spring Peeper tadpoles - they're almost certainly all on land now.

[Bill B]

It's very late for Spring Peeper tadpoles - they're almost certainly all on land now.

Not here in Michigan. Spring Peepers have a broad range from south to north. They were maturing, though, with I think only 1 or 2 without any hindlegs

[Bill B]

Oh, and they just stopped peeping about 2-3 weeks ago.

[Bill B]

It's very late for Spring Peeper tadpoles - they're almost certainly all on land now.

Plus, Gray Treefrogs are right in the middle of breeding - no tads of them. Green Frogs are about done, so they haven't hatched. American Toads have bred, but their tads are are smaller and darker in color. Wood Frogs are done, but their tads are smaller and different color. I suppose they MIGHT be N. Leopard Frog tads, but I don't kmow what their tad look like, and I never heard them in that pond..... O.K., I just looked at pics on the web, and N. Leopard Frog eggs appear to be nearly all light brownish-gray, with specks of dark in them. I believe those are the only anurans that breed in that area.

[Bill B]

Being a very small species in stature, I am willing to bet since you found fish there, you won't find tadpoles. Find some vernal pools and see what you can scoop out of them. Last year I managed to scoop out a spotted salamander larva, that I raised up. The damn thing is huge now!

But Spring Peeper tads are large! Very large for the size of the frog. I don't see why they would be "persecuted" all that much by Gambusia. American Toads definintely breed in that wetland, and almost every year, when I walk through a certain area, I see them leaving it en masse (and sadly, I step on them cuz' they are so close together). My point being that if those small toad tads can make it, then Gambusia probably wouldn't have a whole lot of effect on Spring Peeper tads.

I have a couple formal journal articles on Gambusia and frogs. I'll have to read them.