Use your ears to help state count frogs, toads

You’re much more likely to hear a frog or toad in the woods during the spring season than to see one.

And Michigan is looking for volunteers to listen for them during the 20th annual frog and toad survey.

U.P. volunteers could hear the call of the mink frog, highly reminiscent of the clip-clop of a horse walking on cobble stones. Those in west Michigan can listen for the Fowler’s toad, which sort of bleats like a lamb. Frog-counters all over the state are likely to hear the banjo-like “clung” of the green frog.

“There are some that sound alike, but if you have a little bit of experience you can usually hear the difference,” said Lori Sargent, wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. She coordinates the frog and toad survey, which sends volunteers on pre-determined routes to listen for any of 13 different species of frog and toad in woods and wetlands.

“We hover around 200 routes surveyed each year, with 200 sites,” Sargent said.

Frogs and toads are amphibians, which have primitive lungs and can breathe through their skins. That makes them sensitive to pollutants, contaminants and poor water quality.

“They’re the first indicators of a sick ecosystem,” Sargent said.

Michigan is home to 11 species of frogs and 2 types of toads. Since the survey started, officials have been able to monitor declines in those populations.

“The popular species are staying popular,” Sargent said of widespread species such as the green frog. “Two species that are declining to levels that are of concern are the mink frog and Fowler’s toad.”

The toad likes a sandy woodland environment and usually is found along Lake Michigan dunes in the Lower Peninsula. The mink frog, named because of its musky mink-like odor, likes to live in bogs, ponds and lake edges.

Now that the survey has shown a decline in those populations, Sargent said the DNR is looking for a researcher willing to try to figure out why.

“It could be habitat loss, it could be contaminants,” she said.

Besides participating in the frog and toad count, Sargent said people can help the amphibian population by making sure that wetlands are clean. Keep fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and sewage away from wetlands.

“If you take care of the habitat, you’re taking care of them,” she said.

Also consider reducing the amount of insecticide used around your home to allow plenty of mosquitoes for frogs to feed on.

The survey is paid for with money raised by the state’s wildlife conservation license plate.

Volunteer

If you’d like to help with the frog and toad survey, contact Lori Sargent at SargentL@michigan.gov or 517-284-6216 to provide your name and address.

By the numbers

13: types of frogs and toads in Michigan

200: Survey routes to gauge frog and toad populations

2: Species declining to worrisome levels: the UP’s mink frog and the Fowler’s toad, which is limited to the Lower Peninsula’s west shoreline

1: species of frog limited to Isle Royale (the boreal chorus frog)