The focus of Charlie Fineran’s Photo of the Week this time around is a noisy sign of spring.

This last couple of weeks has finally begun to produce some early Spring-like days! One of the earliest signs of Spring is the noisy chorus of the Spring Peepers coming from the wetlands areas. 

The Spring Peeper is one of the most familiar frogs in the east. Nocturnal, its chorus is among the first signs of Spring.  After hibernating under logs and loose bark, early March and rainy nights summon Spring Peepers, along with a variety of other amphibians, to begin their journey into the wetlands to lay eggs.

Our photo of the week comes from my archives, taken about 10 years ago!  To be more specific, taken March 12, 2010, at 10:03 p.m. along Shades of Death Road, not far from Ghost Lake!  Now add to that scenario a cold and rainy night.  Almost sounds like I am setting you up for a horror tale, but trust me, those are REAL names of REAL places!! 

The event I am going to relate is really quite an amazing annual wildlife event! The event is the annual migration of various amphibians, coming out of hibernation and then migrating down to local wetlands.  Unfortunately, over the years, mankind has built roadways right through their migration paths!

I call the photo “Amphibian rescue.”  That was the name I applied to a program conducted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish & Wildlife – Endangered and Non-game Species.  The concept behind this? Try to save as many of these amphibians as possible from becoming ROAD KILL and also keep data on types of species and how many there are.

When I first heard about this program I have to admit I was scratching my head. Is there really a need for this?!  I get you might want to collect data, but preventing road kill?? I was thinking, Shades of Death Road is not exactly what I call a busy road, especially at night.  I was also envisioning a sporadic crossing of amphibians. 

That was where I was wrong.

SCENARIO & GAME PLAN:  The volunteers were broken into various groups for different locations and at different times. I was part of the Shades of Death site.  At some sites, a road could be physically closed. We tried that at Shades of Death, setting up with wooden horses with Road Closed signs and giving an alternate route. 

I thought I had made the sign as clear as possible, however, from the amount of cars driving through the site, something wasn’t working! I never realized how much traffic these quiet roads had at night!

Part of the plan was to cone off every 50 feet along the center line of the road in the target area.  Each volunteer would patrol a 50-foot area. If you observed an amphibian on the road, you would check off what type and keep a count per species followed by if you wanted give an assist across the road. 

This all sounds pretty uncomplicated, right? Well, let’s add some factors! 

1. Cold and rain: Folks, I remember a couple of 33-degree downpour nights.  I still remember asking myself, “What am I doing here??” I can also remember how good my car felt going home! Last but not least, I remember looking at all these tiny amphibians and thinking, “If I were you, I would be waiting till a nice May evening.”
2. Not the best lighting scenario: head mounted lights, on a road with no lighting!!
3. Wet paper: even with the plastic coating on same, pens, pencils not always marking well with all the wetness 
4. Glasses: fogged up with water on lenses 
5. Amphibians: I NEVER expected to see SOOO MANY AMPHIBIANS! AND I was never there on what they called a real busy night! Picture this: the rocky tree covered uphill area, then the road and then downhill to the wetlands, all covered! 

To make things even more interesting, remember I mentioned those road closed signs? Well, we had drivers from one end of the speed spectrum to the other!! Some could have been issued speeding summonses with that horrible constant squishing noise under their tires AND the volunteers scrambling over guardrails yelling “CAR!!” 

Others were weaving their way slowly from one side of the road to the other with only an occasional “squoosh.”  So, there definitely was/is a need to try to save these small amphibians! 

With the advent of technology and grants, wildlife corridors have been built to go right under the roadways, and at some parks, the roads are blocked off during rainy nights! NOTE:  My hat is off to the workers and volunteers – Not an easy or pleasant experience!!

Now that we are through all that, let’s take a step back and introduce you to the Spring Peeper (Hyla crucifer)!

Research notes 

Description:  ¾ inch to 1 and 3/8 inches.  Tan to brown and gray.  Large toe pads.
Voice:  High-pitched ascending whistle with a short trill.  Males call from shrubs and trees standing in or over water.
Breeding:  In southern areas, November to March in northern areas March to June.
Habitat:  Wooded areas in or near permanent or temporarily flooded ponds and swamps.
Range:  Manitoba to the Maritime Provinces, south through Florida, west to Texas and north into Wisconsin.

Spring Peepers are well camouflaged to look like tree bark and have some ability to make themselves lighter or darker in order to better match their surroundings.  The flat, terminal pad on each of the toes allow it to grip onto plants.  Although they are good climbers, they spend most of their time on the ground, often hiding under leaf litter during the day.  Spring peepers are rarely seen, but during mating season in the spring, they are often heard.  Adult spring peepers come out to feed in the late afternoon and early evening, while sub-adults feed in the early morning to late afternoon.  They generally eat beetles, ants, flies and spiders.  Tadpoles feed on algae and microorganisms.

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran

Charlie Fineran is Allamuchy’s Director of Open Space, Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission Chairman and Allamuchy Historical Society President.