Gray Tree Frog

Saturday, it was the annual summer garage sale around our lake. My husband and I went searching for items in our neighbor's junk that would be treasures for our grandchildren (after a cycle in the dishwasher). This day is also an occasion when neighbors spent time visiting and sharing stories. I found a gem (story not junk) that I want to share.

Our neighbors DM and RAM have a nice yard with flowers and bird houses. Since we share an interest in birds, RAM showed me the 5 baby Black-capped Chickadees in a birdhouse next to the front door and the baby American Robins in the bushes by the garage.

Mama chickadee with food

5 baby birds in a nest with warm fluff

Then she said, "I also have a frog living in my little green outhouse on this bench" (next to the front door, too). She went on to tell me that this frog has been living at this outhouse address for 3 years. Once in a while, it goes away for a few days during the summer. In the winter, it probably hibernates nearby and then in the spring it comes back. Last summer DM and RAM even heard it's mate singing from the bushes. (frog singing is night time music)

I hurried home to get my camera.

While taking pictures, the frog wasn't too happy with my camera lense pointing at it, so it slipped down backwards into the outhouse seat and hid from me but not until I had my pictures!

Outhouse

My home!

White fluff on its feet is cottonwood fuzz


A two seater home!

My research tells me that this is a Gray Tree Frog, Hyla versicolor. It is a chameleon frog that changes its color to match the background. Two identification marks, a white spot under both eyes and yellow-orange markings on the inside of the hind legs, can be seen in the photos.

What an amazing frog!

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
The Calls of Frogs and Toads
Animal Diversity Web
Oklahoma Wildlife Department
Frogs and Toads in Color and Sound
The SIBLEY Guide to Birds
Camera: Canon EOS D60
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM