On our visit to the Forum Nature Area, yesterday, my wife and I found a zillion froglets along the marshy shores of the flooded, seasonal lake. While most appeared to be young leopard frogs, they were difficult to observe, springing from the wet vegetation like hordes of grasshoppers. Within the shallows, other frogs were in various states of metamorphosis, from tadpoles with legs to froglets with tails. Once they transform from a reliance on gills to the use of lungs, the froglets emerge from the water to feed on insects, diving back when danger is sensed.
These swarms of froglets highlight the abundance of life in our rich, unspoiled wetlands and provide natural entertainment for adults and children alike. More importantly, they offer a feast for the herons, snakes, snapping turtles, mink and raccoons that prey on these amphibians. Those that survive will grow rapidly through the summer, doing their part to control the wide variety of insects that inhabit and breed in the wetland. As autumn approaches and the waters cool, the adult frogs will settle into the bottom muck until the warm days and heavy rains of spring revive the marsh.
