Frog Monitoring Newsletter

June 12, 2024

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Hello Couchiching,


Thank you to everyone who sent in their monitoring reports so far. We have received plenty of reports so far. Our conservation and restoration technicians, Jennifer and Jazmin, have been working on the data entry. If they have any questions regarding your data, they will reach out to you for clarification.


For evening frog monitors, your final monitoring visit should be planned for between June 14th and 21st. If you have any questions or are unable to make this visit, please let me know.


Some of our teams reported seeing frogs on the road on the way to their sites in April and May. As we move into summer, you may find turtles and other wildlife. Read through this newsletter for notes from the field, a recap of the April amphibian migration event, how to help wildlife cross the road, and more.


Thanks for all that you do to support conservation and science in this region!


Cheers,

Aiesha Aggarwal

Conservation Analyst at The Couchiching Conservancy


I am the coordinator of the frog monitoring program. If you have any questions about monitoring or would like support in the field, I am happy to help!



aiesha@couchconservancy.ca 705-326-1620

Useful links:

Paper Form (visual + auditory)
Evening Frog Monitoring Manual
Landscape Website
Paper Form (auditory only)
Daytime Frog Monitoring Manual
Landscape Manual

Scroll to the end of this newsletter for more useful links

Highlights from the Field

May 2nd - Daytime monitors, John and Morris, heard chorus frogs, spring peepers, and many birds.


May 14 - John, in addition to many frogs and birds, saw a gray treefrog and a dead watersnake on the path to his site.


May 15th - Meagan and Julianne heard 2 American bitterns duking it out through song. Stan and Sophie were also out monitoring on the 15th. Both teams heard full chorus spring peepers, as well as some gray treefrogs.


May 16th - Karen and Jane heard a few spring peepers, green frogs, and a bullfrog amid long-weekend fireworks, traffic, and trains.


May 19th - Kim and Lorelei heard spring peepers, a gray treefrog, green frog, and a wood frog on another night with fireworks.


May 20th - Janet and Aiesha saw a waved sphynx moth while monitoring


May 21st - Ellen and Lauren heard coyotes howling, and 4 different species of frogs

Field Notes: Amphibian Migration

On April 11th, volunteers from our frog monitoring and wildlife on road programs came together to help salamanders and frogs cross the road.

Find out more here

How to Help Wildlife on the Road

Injured mammals and birds:

Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge

List of other wildlife rehabilitators


Help turtles cross the road:

Watch these video to learn...

How to help turtles cross the road

How to help a snapping turtle


Injured turtles:

Ontario Turtle Conservation Center: 705-741-5000.

Scales Nature Parks Reptile Hotline 705-955-4284.


Nesting, dead, or unsafe-to-stop-for turtles:

TEXT Turtle Guardians 705-854-2888 with the location and photo, if possible

Chorus Frogs in the News

A road construction project passing through important Western Chorus Frog habitat in Quebec, was temporarily halted due to concerns about the impact on the at-risk frog. Efforts to reduce the impacts and preserve the species in the area are underway, including the addition of a wildlife underpass and a project to collect eggs and frogs from the site, breed and then release them Read more here.

More locally, Western Chorus frogs have been identified along the proposed Highway 413 route.

More Useful Links

April 2024 Newsletter
Volunteer Resources
EdApp Website
Dendroica bird ID
Upcoming Events
Become a Member

You are receiving this email because you are a Frog Monitor with The Couchiching Conservancy. Please let us know if things have changed and you can no longer volunteer, or do not wish to receive these emails. 

Protecting nature for future generations

We operate on the territory of the Anishnaabeg

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Image sources: Blanding's turtle - Alysha Henry. Banner image - Aiesha Aggarwal. News article image is a screenshot of this CBC.ca article written by I. Olson, R. Kennedy, April 24, 2024.