Saturday 17 August 2013

Geraldine bullfrog and her buddy in the pond


Goldfish Pond

Geraldine is keeping a good watch on her goldfish pond. Yes, it is
Everybody sits and waits
hers. She has taken over. The goldfish nibble her toes, and she pretty much ignores them.

Lately, there have been a few leopard frogs about. They like the long grass down in the meadow, I have to go slowly on the lawn tractor.
When the grass dries in late summer, the leopard frogs migrate to the goldfish pond. Now, this worries me, since, in its second year, Geraldine moved in. And you know what happens when Geraldine gets wind of that. I have a video of her chomping a large grasshopper. She does the same with the wee leopard frogs. I was so shocked, I didn't get a photo of the cannibalism incident!

leopard frog waits for crickets
I was watching her yesterday. Happily hunkered down in her favourite spot: the pot. There was one leopard frog in her pond. Slowly, over an hour, she turned to keep track of the frog. So far, they have avoided her, as they would make a fine meal for her.
In the afternoon, another leopard frog showed up. They sit in the greenery, where the crickets amble 
about. 
Geraldine lying in wait


Missing back leg: cricket


You'll note Daisy's whiskers in the upper left.
They love the frogs, too.
The first year I built the pond, I finished it in late August. I had many friends. Geraldine hadn't yet found my pond. The leopard frogs were safe!
September, they moved in but are able to share.
HUGE leopard frog last year!
Usually, they are much smaller.

Geraldine and a buddy on her right.
You can't see me!
CC #280

11 comments:

Phil Slade said...

That Geraldine is one naughty girl. Good thing you keep tabs on her Jennifer.

Anonymous said...

Geraldine is awesome. Your pond is beautiful. It must be fun to watch all the interaction among its inhabitants (aside from the cannibalism, of course!).

TexWisGirl said...

well, a girl's gotta eat. :)

Cloudia said...

Nicely observed, Jenn



Aloha

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

What great photos Jenn. I loved your photos of the frogs, what neat shots and a fun story.

Unknown said...

Cute frogs! I hope Geraldine won't eat all the other frogs.

eileeninmd said...

Jenn, wonderful collection of frogs photos. Great post, have a happy weekend!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

I'll bet like me, you do a frog count at the pond to be sure everyone is accounted for!
From what I've read, I hope I don't get a bullfrog in our pond, does yours eat the smaller green frogs?

Red said...

Good for you for supplying frogs with some habitat. They need all the help they can get.

Carletta said...

My granddaughters just visited for a couple of weeks and when they would walk by our coy pond a frog would often croak and jump in. They were startled at first but then got used to them.
You provide a lovely spot for your garden critters!

Hootin Anni said...

This is some serious frog watching!! But, who woulda thought her name was Geraldine....she looks more like Evelyn. [kidding]

LOVED this post. AND the images.