140830 Gray Tree frogs

Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) are variable in color owing to their ability to camouflage themselves depending on the substrate where they are sitting. The degree of mottling varies.They can change from nearly black to nearly white. sexually dimorphic. Males have black or gray throats, while the throats of the females are lighter. Tadpoles have rounded bodies (as opposed to the more elongated bodies of stream species) with high, wide tails that can be colored red if predators are in the system. Metamorphosis can occur as quickly as two months with optimal conditions. At metamorphosis, the new froglets will almost always turn green for a day or two before changing to the more common gray. Young frogs will also sometimes maintain a light green color and turn gray or darker green after reaching adulthood.They prefer to breed in semipermanent woodland ponds without fish, but also lay eggs in swamps, vernal pools, The gray tree frog is capable of surviving freezing of their internal body fluids to temperatures as low as -8 °C

 H. versicolor have bright-orange patches on their hind legs, which distinguishes them from other tree frogs, such as H. avivoca.^[3] 


Found this hiding in a water bucket tire. The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is a common species of toad found throughout the eastern United States and Canada.The eggs of the American toad are laid in two strings and can hatch in 2-14 days. When hatched the tadpoles are recognizable by their skinny tails in relation to the size of their black bodies. They may advance to adulthood in 50-65 days. When metamorphosis is completed, the "toadlets" may stay in the water for a short period of time before they become mostly land based. Tadpoles have several mechanisms to reduce predation .  They avoid predators by swimming in very shallow water, and by swimming close together in schools during the day. Tadpoles also produce toxic chemicals in their skin that discourage some potential predators. Fish have been reported to die after consuming one tadpole; however, most fish quickly learn to avoid eating American toad tadpoles. The call or voice of a breeding male is a high trill, lasting 6-30 seconds, similar to a ringing telephone. From Wiki