Waiting, Part II

I have been waiting for spring to get a grip and awaken this vernal pool.

A mountaintop vernal pool

  Sunday was a spring like day. Monday was even warmer, with the rain that brings out the salamanders and frogs.  So, when I went out last evening in the rain, I was fully expecting a cacophonous din and plenty of  action from the creatures of the vernal pools.  My vernal pool was only slightly awake though.  Probably because it is up on top the mountain, and with the higher elevation spring takes a little longer to arrive than here along the river.

  When I arrived at the pool, all was still.  After quite a few minutes wait in the darkness only a few wood frog quacks broke the stillness (if you can call the sound of rain drops falling in the woods stillness).

Oh, there were creatures there alright.

A flash in the blackness caught my shy, silent, almost invisible audience watching me watching them.

Here I lightened up the picture so you can see the raindrop's ripples and the brush where the frogs were hanging out.

Spring Peeper

There were a few spring peepers, but they weren't peeping.
Most of the present residents were wood frogs, and like I said, they only made a few quacks.

Mating pair of Wood Frogs

  This pair of wood frogs nicely illustrates what the quacking is all about.  The wood frog mating calls sound like quacks.  Once a pair find each other, the smaller male hangs onto the female until the egg laying business is accomplished. You can see she is very full with eggs. I haven't seen any eggs in the pool yet. 

Up on the mountain, my vernal pool is barely awake. 
But at lower elevations, what I saw while driving there, is another story!

Waiting, Part I about this vernal pool.

Waiting, Part III about this vernal pool and Wood Frog eggs.

Waiting, Part IV about the vernal pool, Wood Frogs and Spotted Salamanders.