In the dead of winter there shouldn’t be frogs out and about, right? Even on an unseasonably warm day? Right?
Wrong. This Blanchard’s Cricket Frog was found near the Elm Fork of the Trinity River on a glorious warm February Day—active and full of vigor. Only in Texas!
Wikipedia has this to say about the Blanchard’s Cricket Frog:
Blanchard’s cricket frogs have warty skin that is usually brown, gray, tan, or olive green, with darker bands of color on the legs. A dark, triangular mark between the eyes is frequently seen. They are small, growing to between 0.6 and 1.5 inches (1.5 and 3.8 cm) in length. They generally inhabit slow-moving or stagnant bodies of water, and are the most aquatic of tree frogs in North America. They hibernate during the cold months, emerging in late March or early April and beginning hibernation in late October. Breeding occurs from mid-May to mid-July, and females lay small clusters or single eggs. Tadpoles emerge in late summer. Breeding males have a metallic clicking call distinctive to the species. The subspecies is named after Frank N. Blanchard, a noted American herpetologist.
