…CONTINUED…

…

12:31am – Diana was becoming hungry and inpatient. Could this night get any worse? The answer was yes, yes it could, when Diana decided that she could totally try to squat down by the steepest part of the shore to get a closer look at some super cool Ostrich ferns (a plant she recognized repeatedly in other nature journals!)! She was soon grateful that she waterproofed all of her accouterments, for moments later she slipped and slid, a rush of adrenaline luckily finding her only knee-deep before catching the shore. She had fallen into the shallow pond guck, dropping the entirety of her folded umbrella and journal bag into the dirty water in the process. AGHGHDNCIOBEO!! Ewwwww!!

12:42am – UGH, why?! Why didn’t I just do another grey squirrel! This frog is literally smaller than a quarter, what if I can never find it?! What if I’m dying out here for nothing! It was at this point that she shed a few tears. But as ready and as easily as she could have thrown in the towel, Diana was going to find a Spring Peeper if it was the last thing she ever accomplished. After all, she had to energy to push on. She had a strong latte-of-the-day from KAF at around 7pm, so she was driven by the caffeine levels that any good naturalist should need. She calmed herself down by noticing the cool, soothing green color collecting on a huge tree stump – could it be moss?

12:45am – Diana passed a sign that had been knocked down. “NO SKATING ON POND” – well, no need to ask twice. “NO TRESPASSING” – oh, aehhehehee…. Diana realized that she was a badass now, sneaking through forbidden and uncharted territory. Her nerves quickly returned however, as the terrain became so moist at this new part of the pond that the giant layer of leaves began to squish completely under her weight, just like quick sand. She was mortified thinking of what could hide underneath. What if I could just find a more easily spottable, big ugly frog, and change my species to that? NO DIANA. You cannot give up, you love these little spring peepers, you are already so deeply researching them. This will be so worth it very soon. PERSIST!

12:56am – Focus! As Diana progressed toward the more open half of Occum, near where her class explored earlier in the term, she was shocked but excited to hear the peeps get louder and louder! One wild fact that she kept pondering about Spring Peepers was that they develop and metamorphose in water like any other frog, but most of them spend their entire adult life on land and in treetops, to the point where Spring-Peeper-pet-owners have to be warned that the older frogs could actually drown in water. The area was bordered by tall trees, yet she was surprised to find that the chirps seemed to be coming from the frail, smaller trees closer into the pond. Could the sounds actually just be coming from across the pond, is my echolocation totally junk? No, it feels too close…!

1:01am – Finally, SO CLOSE!! As Diana snuck nearer and nearer to the frogs’ yelps and the ponds edge, the cries became louder and louder. It came to the point where she could make out the intricate speech of individual froggers – of all of the distinct pitches, harmonies, conversations of what must have been an entire pack of froggies!! OMG,OMG, I must have a chance at finding at least one. ! But be patient!! Be careful! she told herself, terrified of scaring one away if she could find one.

1:12am – ALAS!! She gasped, she could not believe it – there it was, she saw a dark, moving vocal sac letting out it’s signature sound, A SPRING PEEPER, right on the cross between two ultra thin branches. A flurry of picture and video and observation ensued. See the following, as proof and because it’s super cool, and her nature journal to share in the questions, the discovery, the pure excitement!! Her whole journey had paid off!!!

[start at 3:02 -ish in this video of #DeliriousDiana and her frog for a beautiful view of the pattern on his back!!] [and rewind to around 1:51 to see his underbelly and oddly dark vocal sac!]

1:25am – Shockingly enough, Mr. Frogger rewarded Diana’s efforts, for he was a beautiful model froggy, and stayed remarkably still on that branch for recording and observation for at least a good 10ish minutes! Once Mr. Frogger finally hopped free somewhere, Diana was so excited and delirious at this point that she actually continued to look and see if she could find one of his friends – the cries were all so loud and close together after all, right?

1:34am – Diana decided that she was lucky enough to have found one “seldom seen” spring peeper, and that it would be ludicrous and silly to hope for another – it was time for her to get home.

1:36am – Diana emerged from the brush, and by the street lamp in front of Occom, took a celebratory selfie of her beautiful, joyful, soaked naturalist self.

1:38am – She was so wiped by this process that she briefly considered getting S&S to safe ride her the 400meters home to McLaughlin. She realized that not only would this be pathetic (I mean, come on, if I’ve gotten this far, she thought, never give up the last quarter mile stretch), but she laughed out loud at the thought of trying to explain to an officer why she was loitering around Occum pond at 1:38am, with the hair of a witchcraft defendant and the smell of pure pond water organism.

1:46am – Over 2-well-worth hours later, Diana beeped her ID back into the warmth of Goldstein hall. She found some free leftover Thai Curry Vegetables left in the common room. It really was a beautiful night.

[it was so late that Diana referred to Occum as a lake and it’s creatures as of the sea, but that’s okay]

SHE HAD FOUND THE SPRING PEEPER! But why on earth would she stay with a species that was so hard to find?! Furthermore, how could something so common, and even so easily audibly detected, be so difficult to find and observe visually?!

This is the amazing part of natural history. The species that we become most curious of are not the ones we see every day, who glide from powerline to powerline or are planted along the green for us to just stumble upon. No, it is the species that we must actively pursue that are the ones that will return their love for us. Diana was driven by the Spring Peeper’s unique and crazy-interesting phenology and beautiful anatomy. She fell in love with the endearing, yet magical brightly pitched music that no other, bigger or easier frog could orchestrate. But she knew that those Spring Peepers were the smallest gems in the mine – she waded through nature tirelessly just to encounter one of them, yet when she made eye contact with Mr. Frogger, no other feeling could compare, and the whole night became worth it – even special and fun. No matter how rare something is, with enough knowledge, intuition, and most importantly, hard work, you CAN find it. And it will be that much more rewarding than drawing that grey squirrel.

Never Give Up, Young Naturalists!

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/profiles/peeper-frog.html

[an endnote – I deeply apologize for my Vertical Video Syndrome. Watch this to see why I suck for that]

Because the most rewarding fruits of this science are certainly hard-earned.

Take this from a personal experience- an attempt to track down a common, yet elusively hidden species of frog.

Diana’s dearest roommate – Andrea (“Roomie”), was one of the lucky ones. Those fortunate people, the ones that animals are naturally drawn to, that is. A week earlier she had sent Diana a hilarious video of a large frog she had found around 10pm hopping along Gold Coast Lawn. Wow, did Diana wish she had that kind of luck finding those amphibious little devils. The last time she was able to observe a frog by chance was when it hopped onto her brother’s bike during a family vacation in Florida (circa 2010) – and hence her passion for frogs was born.

So Diana sought guidance from her aficionados of the amphibious. She knew that her track and field teammate, Leigh, had quite the naturalist experience with frogs, as she had worked in an ecology lab here at Dartmouth with Wood frogs. “You actually aren’t in the best timing for Wood frogs, by this warmth in Spring they’ve already laid their eggs and you won’t see many adults around.” Diana later wondered whether that was because of their life cycle or hibernation cycle.

But alas, Diana found her other great friend and teammate (and 2016 Writing Natural History Wood frog project veteran) Angela, who just happened to also be doing a frog project for her class this month. After asking her what frog species she was planning to go look for, she replied “some Spring Peepers!”.

“Spring Peepers?!” Diana replied.

“Cute little froggers!!” Ang explained.

Sure enough, within the next few hours Diana was knee-deep in preliminary research on what she indeed determined to be the most adorable tree frog in the entire Northeast, Pseudacris crucifer. She decided to go for it, and ended up choosing the exotic frog, not just the large chubby, ugly, easy to see toads.

According to the State of New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department, “This species is seldom seen but often heard…”.

Seldom seen?! Great. This will be a challenge, Diana thought. But one I’m SOO ready to accept. Because these frogs are known for often being heard “…singing in chorus during evening hours.” If I could just listen for their beautiful cricket-like chirps, and really, really hunt with my eyes, maybe I could track one down. Seldom seen? Psshtt, right?!

She was ready.

“I don’t think I’ll have time to go with you and start looking for a while :/, but they probably come out around sunset.” Angela texted.

Diana looked by Mink Brook one nice evening, right around dusk, but still with enough light to see the frog if she found one. It had just rained the day before, so she came knowing that frogs often come out more in damp, gross weather. Nothing. She did not even hear any. But she left with some great observations of snails!

She came back to Mink Brook another time, this time a little bit later. She looked under branches and leaves in the marshiest of areas, keeping in mind that the frogs don’t like direct sunlight. Nothing. But on the way back up in the neighbor’s yard, she found a nice robin!

Eventually Diana decided that maybe ponds were much more prevalent habitats for these little buggers than river shores. So she went to Occum Pond, a bit later than dusk. She did not hear anything, but she did see two deer!

She eventually came to the fun, but unhelpful conclusion that it’s much easier to stumble upon things that you aren’t looking for than to nail down a particular organism, which was definitely making her discovery of Natural History equally more enjoyable and frustrating. But this did not distract too much from her determination to find, the one and only, Spring Peeper.

She figured that the mistakes she was making in previously not finding the frog were probably time of night. Frogs are certainly more nocturnal than Angela thinks, after all, Roomie found that frog hours after sunset, she thought. And maybe it had to be moister, crappier weather than just the day after rain. Maybe it would really be best to go out and brave an exploration during the rain.

 And so it was planned. After a long, busy, rainy day and a long chat with Roomie, Diana decided: it was time. It was too rainy to risk ruining her nature journal, so she brought it out in a Ziploc bag. She would document each sense and thought of her journey as typed into her phone notes, and try her hardest to get the very best pictures and videos of anything she could find, and instantly journal it later. What she also did later, while the journey was still fresh in her memory, was sit down for a long while with her kombucha tea and use the timestamps on all of her photos to chronicle, in a detailed thriller, her late, arduous journey of perseverance that found the implausible – THE SPRING PEEPER.

THE FROG BLOG

 Sunday May 14^th – Monday May 15^th, 2017

11:30pm – a journey through Occum Pond – light to moderate rain, no wind. Damp ground, high humidity. Accuweather “Real-feel” 42 degrees F.

11:34pm – “Be careful out there my roomie!” warned Andrea. “Don’t worry, I’ll be 400meters away!” assured Diana. Diana zipped up her oversized bright blue raincoat and double-tied her old white Saucony trainers. She picked up a big piece of cardboard to sit on the wet ground for observation if necessary. Armed with her nature journal and pencils sealed to protect from precipitation, she exited the back of Goldstein Hall, popped open her umbrella and clicked her flashlight. She trekked across the parking lot and started along the road by Dick’s House Hall.

11:37pm – She was soon elated– I CAN HEAR THEM!! Nevertheless, a distant but full chorus of exactly the collection of high pitched, not-at-all-ribbit-like peeps of the Spring Peepers she had recognized from the online recordings rang. She stepped over a deep puddle in the road, and noticed that there were three earthworms squirming and swimming (hopefully not drowning) in it! They looked stretched out and super gross, so she took a video and some pictures, just for Evan.

11:41pm – She passed Dick’s House, walking along the road with the houses that border the South edge of Occum, heading toward the D.O.C. house bordering the golf course, when she was startled by fast approaching footsteps. It was a random runner girl, wearing just a sports crop top and short shorts, this late at night in the cold, completely soaked, appearing entirely unphased by the increasing raindrops. Diana decided that no matter what was about to happen, she was surely nowhere near the craziest person out tonight.

11:48pm. Diana’s already sprinkled sneakers squeaked down the slippery hill into the D.O.C. parking lot as a strange feeling started to dawn on her, the reason Roomie had been worried. The darker parts of Occum were creepy as all heck this late at night. She decided to start her search near Occum pond’s one and only safety blue light, just in case New Hampshire’s smallest species of frogs decided to sneak up and strangle her.

11:52pm – Diana marveled for a minute at her first full sight of the pond at night. The bumpy ripples of the masses of raindrops tickling the surface tension of the pond were strikingly beautiful, just absolutely serene.

11:55pm – She advanced to the squishy and nebulous border between the floor of disintegrating grasses and leaves and the beginning mud shore of the pond. And the chirps of the frogs were ringing all around her, even louder as she got closer to the pond! After a few steps in and a flash of her flashlight, she swore she saw something jump by the water in front of her. But to no avail, it must have just been a cricket. Although she kept trying to feel a lucky feeling, she started to sense that it was going to be a long night.

11:58pm – Diana began to test whether taking regular photos of things she had her flashlight on, or just using flash photography, would be better. She obtained slightly different colorations of all the little plants and creatures and duckweeds in the following scene, so she decided to use an assortment of photography techniques that night.

12:03am – She advanced West along the North edge of Occum, and reentered near the shore. She began to feel increasingly more eerie about the situation – she felt sketchy creeping around in the rain near a pond in the witching hour. She literally could have been part of a murder mystery novel at this point. Anyway.

12:06am Suddenly, Diana’s flashlight lit up buzzing little movements in the water! They were about 20 little critters, shiny and black, about the size of her pinky nail, flitting randomly around the surface between a few tall water grasses and the shore. Could they be tadpoles?! she briefly wondered. But they couldn’t be, because tadpoles would have a pronounced tail, be bigger and softer looking, and would not flit so fast at the surface. She took a video, hoping someone more experienced could help her identify them later.

[Hear also in this video — the peeping of the distant Spring Peepers!!]

12:07am – Okay, focus Diana!! The rain started to pick up, and she was suddenly horrified by the fact that those could have just been gross fly larvae, and she was revolted with worry that the long grasses and twigs that poked at the ankles of her leggings could infest her with ticks. She was extremely paranoid trudging up and around the moist inclines, but she redirected her focus on the never-ceasing choir of her chirping little frog babes.

12:22am – She delved back into a further shore of brush. After catching her umbrella on tree branches on two occasions and tripping for the first time, Diana began to shiver, as she became chilly, moist, and frustrated. She regretted choosing a tree frog, and began to worry that they could only be found at the very top of tall, majestic trees. This thought led her to gather in the back of her mind that she heard all of the chirping louder when she passed patches of great evergreen vs. shorter bushes. Moral was low.

Will Diana ever find her little Pseudacris crucifer? Stay tuned… TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2!!

…