I don’t know how my friend ever noticed this Gray Treefrog when we were birdwatching in the woods over the weekend. Not only was he tiny, but he made himself blend in perfectly with his background.
We’ve taken a lot of hikes over the last 30 years but this is the first time either of us has ever discovered a frog in the woods.
Gray Treefrogs are able to change their color based on the time of day and the temperature, and they can switch from gray to brown to green. They are about 1.5 to 2 inches in length, and like songbirds the males call to establish their breeding territories and to attract a mate. But unlike birds, they do all their “singing” at night.
We spotted him at around 1pm in the afternoon. When we went back through that same area of woods 2 hours later he was still there but had moved a couple of inches higher on the giant leaf he was resting on.