Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus)

    

    The Southern Cricket Frog, is a small frog and member of the family Hylidae which makes it a treefrog. You can find Southern Cricket Frogs in coastal plain bogs, ponds and in our case vernal pools. 

    They have a distinct linear "Y" shaped marking on their back, though often green the marking can vary in shade and color as well as pronouncement.

    Though they are called cricket frogs they mostly feed on smaller insects like mosquitoes, some crickets would actually be the same size as this frog and would prove difficult to swallow.

 

Lab #6

Date: 3/2/16

Location: Lumber River Conservancy 

Lab Activity: Placement of motion camera and audio recorder

Habitat: Pine/Hardwood Forest

Temperature: Not Recorded

Wind: Not Recorded

Humidity: Not Recorded

Additional Information: We didn't take note of any animals while we were out there, with the                                                       exception of some amphibian eggs.

    This camera uses a noninvasive flash and uses infrared detection. In order to set off the camera, anything that passes in front of the detector would have to be large enough and would also have to show temperature contrast to the background. Because of the temperature contrast requirement, this camera does not pick up reptiles and amphibians.

    We set this camera up on tree only about 2.5 feet above the ground. We placed in an open area and placed bait in the form of corn and cat food in front oft, we also brought in a special concoction filled with all types of stuff like egg and deer liver as a scent lure which was buried underground. We also placed some food underneath some rocks, the purpose of that is to make it a bit harder for the animal to eat it and have it stay in front of the camera longer.  

    We put this recorder device in the back section of the conservancy in hopes that no cars would effect the recording and so that no one was likely to find and steal it. We placed it within a couple feet of a two vernal pools, as the goal is to record frog calls. The recorder itself was set to record sound for one minute at the start of every new hour during the later hours of the day.

    In one of the vernal pools we came across some amphibian eggs.

Everything below is an update made April 20th, 2016 which contains the findings from our camera and recorder put in the form of the list of the species observed.

 Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), bottom right next to the stick

White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

  Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) I believe that this is a gray fox and not a red fox because of the tail. The tail on a red fox has a white tip and the gray fox has dark colorations on the end of its tail, like the one observed in the photograph. 

Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)

American Crow (Corvus Brachyrhynchos) It is a bit hard to see in this picture but you will find it on the right side of the photo next to the corn kernels. I believe that this an American Crow and not a fish crow because it is holding its head up like an American soldier at attention, while Fish Crows typically lean forward like a fisherman leaning over a ship's railing to pull up a net.

Frogs recorded:

 Spring Peeper

 Southern Leopard Frog

 Green Frog

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

    The Spring Peeper, which is distinctively recognized by the X shaped marking on its back, is a member of the family hylidae which makes it a tree frog. These guys will call out in huge choruses and often drown out the sound of any other frogs calling and they start peeping right around the beginning of spring. 

 Spring Peeper Calling in Chorus

Southern Chorus Frog (Pseadacris nigrita)

We did not actually get to see this species but rather we only heard it in the background.

   The southern chorus frog has a call which can be best compared to a xylophone and can be heard singing during most parts of the day typically near shallow bodies of water. They breed from November to April throughout most of their range but have been known to breed year round in Florida.

   Its underside color varies from whitish gray to a more tan color and its back is marked with dark broken lines or spots. Most southern chorus frogs have a line starting at their eyes and running down their sides.

    

 Southern Chorus Frog Call

     

    

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

This was the only bird we saw on our trip to Calloway Forest and unfortunately these hawks prey primarily on smaller bird species which means it may have killed a red cockaded woodpecker or two. These hawks are fly with great agility through dense forests in order to surprise their prey, unlike many birds of prey they they don't swoop down from a great height.

Pine Woods Treefrog (Hyla femoralis)

    As the name suggests the Pine Woods Treefrog is a mostly arboreal species, but this one was found underneath a coverup. It may have been looking for a place to moisten up or it could have been looking for a small insect to feast on. 

    These frogs can be brown, green or gray in coloration, but if you have a male you will can identify it by the orange flares on the thigh. 

    Their diet consists mainly of animals such as ants, beetles, crickets, moths and other small arthropods.

   Pinewoods Treefrog call

Red Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

    The adult Red Shouldered Hawks have brown and white checkered patterns on the top parts and have red barring on their breasts. Individuals of this species do look different on the eastern and western halves of America, the western variation being lighter in color and the hawk in the picture is from south florida.

    We didn't actually get to see the hawks but we know that there is a mating a pair in the area and they were squawking at us.

 

They almost sound like a cross between a seagull and a dog's squeaky toy.

Pileated Woodpecker (Hylatomus pileatus)

 Male

Female

The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker species that you will see in North Carolina. They are easily identified by the very distinctive red crest placed right on top of their heads. 

The males and females look mostly the same, but have one distinguishing feature. Both genders have a whisker mark starting from the base of the beak and stretching across the face. The whisker mark on a male is red, while the whisker mark on a female is black.

A Pileated Woodpecker was heard in the area drumming its beak against a hollow tree. These woodpeckers do this in order to establish territories, choosing hallow tree to resonate the sounds of their drumming over a greater distance. 

The Pileated Woodpecker is also easily identified by its call.

Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)

The Carolina Chickadees were seen seen near one of the ponds in the area feeding on the seeds of a sweetgum tree along side House Finches.

The Carolina Chickadee has a black cap and black bib with white cheeks. Their tail is long and narrow which along with the back and wings is a gray color.

Although there is no sexual dimorphism in the coloration of this species the males are typically larger.

Carolina Chickadees are often found in flocks but tend to space themselves apart while feeding.

Carolina Chickadee Call

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

A wood duck was spotted flying over the canopy and away out of our sight.

The male Wood Duck is covered in all sorts of marks and colorations along with reasonably sized crest. The females are a drabber grayish brown color with a speckled breast.

 Male Wood Duck calls

Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)

 Female Winter Plumage

Male Summer Plumage  

A pair five of Pine Warblers was seen perched in wherelse but a pine tree.

This species changes color depending on the time of year and while there is little difference in coloration between the males and the females, the males are slightly brighter in color with more yellowish coloration on the to of the bird. 

 Pine Warbler Call

House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)

Female Male

Male Winter Plumage

House Finches were seen near the pond eating sweet gum tree seeds amongst Carolina Chickadee.

The males have red colorations along the face, breast, and rump. The females have a dingy grayish brown color. While the females generally remain the same year round, the males take on a dingier coloration during the winter.

  House Finch Call

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

A Tufted Titmouse was spotted near the pond, I did not personally see this species and so cannot report on any activity.

The Tufted Titmouse is medium sized passerine bird with a grayish coloration and a crest atop its head not to dissimilar from that of Cardinal's crest. They have a black lore and peach coloring underneath the wings.

  Tufted Titmouse Song

The song of the Tufted Titmouse varies in syllables, it can be one syllable or five.

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

This species was spotted amongst the understory flying at about average head height. 

They have a thin medium beak for feeding on insects. The feather on top of their head may appear flat at times but they can raise them into a rounder peak like shape.

Both the male and the females are brownish gray color on top and have lighter coloration underneath.

 Eastern Phoebe Call

Its call is where the Phoebe gets its name, if you use your imagination it almost sounds like they're saying fee-bee.