Mr. Grey Tree Frog

Well, not to be out done by the visiting Spring Peeper just the day before, this handsome fellow made an appearance last night. This is a Grey Tree Frog and I came across him hiding perfectly on my garden hose. The hose is grey and green, and so is the frog - camouflaged perfectly. Had I not seen him, he surely would have gotten hurt, even 'croaked', as I was in the process of unwinding the hose.

Emilie ran and got her critter bucket and as usual we brought him in the house. We caught him several bugs incase he got hungry and enjoyed watching him climb all over the sides of the critter bucket. These guys are similar to the Spring Peeper in that they both have large toe pads for gripping when climbing.



Growing up I don't recall ever seeing or catching Grey Tree frogs but I've come across them more and more lately. Last year we found a fairly large one hiding in the hole of a stockade fence post just beside our pool. We didn't bother him and he stayed there for days on end - I guess the eat'n was good there, after all we're always finding all types of insects floating in the pool.

The chameleon of the frog world.

That's how some people describe the gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor – a name that implies this animal is always the same color, and ignores its ability to adapt to backgrounds ranging from gray to green. But, certainly, this amphibian's most curious feature is its ability to change colors much like the more-famous lizard with the same trait, the chameleon.

They live wherever they find small ponds, roadside ditches and other pools of standing water. The best habitat is shallow water located close to mixed stands of willows, oaks and pines. The frogs also prefer lots of overhead vegetation, and fallen branches or extensive vegetation along the water’s edge. They often congregate in areas with an abundance of shrubs and vines.
During the day, gray tree frogs hide on or beneath rough tree bark, in hollow trees and on leaves. They tolerate high temperatures quite well, and they're most active during the summer, when humidity is high.

Their remarkable ability to climb or rest on vertical surfaces is the result of a mucous layer produced by toe pad cells. This mucous creates a sticky bond with the vertical surface that’s strong enough to support the frog’s weight.

This frog’s breeding season lasts from early April through July. Males begin calling at breeding sites when night air temperatures reach around 60 degrees. Their calls resemble musical, birdlike or buzzing trills, and the chorus attracts females to the site. The frogs then breed in water.

Afterwards, each female may produce between 700 and 3,800 eggs, and biologists have documented individual frogs producing multiple clutches in a single season. Eggs are light brown, and they measure barely 1/25-inch in diameter. After they are deposited, the eggs attach to floating vegetation in clumps of 30 to 40 eggs. They hatch in only four or five days, and the tadpoles completely metamorphose within two months. Young frogs typically stay near the breeding site for the remainder of summer.