Frog Safari: Part 1

Armed with binoculars, a Coors Light I got from the Vineyard guys and two hours of time to kill before the Big Event, I headed off on a reconnaissance mission. The evening was spectacular. The birds and the bees were going off with that “first good sunny day after a long cold, wet spell” happiness. All was very well in the vineyards of Michel-Schlumberger.

But then I heard it and it sent a little tingle up my spine.

I had listened to that very same sound many times, just hours before in fact, on the site I found on the internet. I already knew the call well, of course, but I needed to be positively sure. And standing on the hill overlooking the lake in the syrah block, I was sure. It was the call of the Bullfrog. And the Bullfrog and I had an important date in two hours time…

American Bullfrog. Deceptively cute...

Although the American Bullfrog is found throughout most of California they are not natives to The Golden State. To be exact, their home range is pretty much from the edge of Canada south to the Rio Grande River in Texas, and from the East Coast all the way west to New Mexico and Colorado.

Bullfrog devours a tree frog

And this transplant is not necessarily a welcome one. The non-native American Bullfrog is probably responsible for some of the decline of many native species, including frogs, turtles, snakes, and waterfowl. In short, Bullfrogs are big and tough and they eat anything they can they stuff down there throats. Literally. Documented prey includes rodents, small turtles, snakes, birds, and even bats. And, oh yes, they eat a lot of frogs. Especially frogs smaller than them, like the California Red-Legged Frog.

The California Red-Legged Frog is truly a California frog – it is found in no other state. And unlike the Bullfrog, it is listed as a Threatened Species by U.S. Fish & Wildlife. It is estimated that this species has disappeared from 70% of its original range and is now only found in about 238 streams or drainages in 23 counties of California. Although the most serious threats to this frog are loss of habitat from urbanization and agriculture and exposure to pesticides, the voracious Bullfrog certainly isn’t helping matters.

The beautiful and noble California Red-Legged Frog

And here’s where Natasha Dvorak enters the picture. Natasha is a local frog expert and lover of M-S wines. I met her at Fish Day a few weeks back and when conversation turned from steelhead trout to frogs I had to admit my complete ignorance of pretty much anything amphibian. Maybe it was the cabernet we were sipping but somehow it didn’t seem that odd at the time when she suggested that maybe we should suit up in waders and tromp around Lake Schlumberger in the middle of the night with headlamps, binoculars and dip nets to search for Red-Legged Frogs. Sure, why not? After another glass of wine a date was set.

Yes, folks — we were going Frogging.

But that was weeks ago. And tonight’s the night. And now it’s nearly 8:00 PM and I’m sitting at the computer after completing my recon and hearing the Bullfrog and in a few minutes I’ll be meeting up with Natasha and two other intrepid volunteers to brave the bullying Bullfrogs and search for our little local hero the California Red-Legged Frog. It’s peak mating season for frogs so they should be extra feisty tonight.

I feel like Marlin Perkins. Or, more accurately — Jim. Anyway, gotta go. Stay tuned to find out what went down…

Tony

P.S. To hear the spine-chilling call of the American Bullfrog click here. If you’ve got the nerve…