Transcript Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron
• Found all throughout the
wetlands of North
America
• Eat Frogs, Fish,
Salamander, small
mammals, aquatic insects
and plants.
• Live up to 20 years.
• Largest Herons in N.
America.
• Control fish and insect
populations.
Orb Spider Argiope aurantia
• Large web building spider.
• Known for zigzag lines in
webs
• Non-venomous
• Grow up two 2 cm long.
Duckweed
• Smallest flowering
plant
• Grow in still or slow
moving water
• Used to treat sewer
from livestock farms
• Absorb nutrients
directly from the
water.
Pickerel Weed
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This plant usually grows in wet areas - it
likes ponds, ditches and other shallow
areas. It will bloom in the spring and
summer
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It is a very common weedy, aquatic
perennial. With its heart shaped leaves and
glossy, dark coloring it makes for a nice
pond addition. Pickerel weeds can grow to
4 feet tall.
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It will produce well in full sun and in
partial sun.
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It can be used as a container plant for
water gardens with no fear of it being
considered invasive. It will mix nicely with
other plants although its rate of growth is
fast.
Mallards
• Most common duck in
North America.
• They eat seeds, insects,
fish, frogs, and plant
vegetation
• Most males have grayish
or brownish feathers, a
green colored head, and a
purple breast
• Females are brown and
white.
• Control fish, frog, and
insect population.
Bull Frog (Rana catesbeiana)
DESCRIPTION: Our largest frog, 3
to 8 inches long. Resembles the
Green Frog, but lacks the fold of skin
from the eardrum down each side of
the back. Throat color is yellow in
males, white in females.
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HABITAT: Permanent waters; lakes,
ponds, river backwaters. Needs warm
waters with abundant plant growth.
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SIZE: 3-8 inches long
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BREEDING: June-July, in ponds and lake
edges. Large floating egg masses may
contain 5000 to 10,000 eggs. Tadpoles
need 2 to 3 summers before becoming
frogs.
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VOICE: A deep, low, rumbling croak,
often written as "jug o rum!“
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RANGE AND STATUS: statewide, but
numbers have been reduced locally due
to over-harvesting for "frog legs." Now
rare over much of state.
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NOTES: Will sometimes eat small birds.
Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri)
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DESCRIPTION: Like American
Toad, but throat and belly is
usually plain colored and has
more warts (3 or more) in each
dark spot on the back. 2 to 31/2
inches long.
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HABITAT: Woodlands, often
with sandy soil, such as Lake
Michigan dune woodlands.
BREEDING: May-June, in
ponds. Eggs in long strings.
Tadpoles transform in mid to
late summer. Tiny toadlets
almost identical to American
Toad.
VOICE: A short, bleating cry,
like a lamb, but quite unlike the
American Toad's trill.
RANGE AND STATUS:
Extreme western and southern
Lower Peninsula.
Green Frog (Rana clamitans)
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•DESCRIPTION: A large green,
brown, or olive frog, 2 1/2 to 4 inches
long. Some have blotchy markings on •
the back and/or sides. Has a fold of
skin from eardrum down each side of
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back; the similar appearing, but larger,
Bullfrog lacks these folds. Undersides
are white, sometimes dappled with
gray. Throat is yellow in the male,
white in the female. Upper lip area is
green or yellow.
HABITAT: Permanent ponds, lakes,
marshes, wooded swamps, banks
of streams. Eats insects, smaller
frogs, and other small prey.
BREEDING: May-July, in
permanent waters. Floating egg
masses may hold over 4000 eggs.
Tadpoles often take two seasons to
transform into frogs.
VOICE: An emphatic "clung," like
picking a banjo string. Short and
loud.
RANGE AND STATUS: Common
statewide.
Northern Leopard Frog
(Rana pipiens)
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DESCRIPTION: The familiar "meadow frog" with
dark round spots on a background of green,
greenish brown or brown. Legs may have dark
spots or bars. A dark spot is seen above each eye
and on the snout. A white line stretches from the
nose to the shoulder, above the upper lip. Entirely
white underneath. Medium - 2 to 3 1/2 inches
long.
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HABITAT: Wet meadows,
grassy pond and lake edges.
May wander well away from
water after breeding season.
BREEDING: April-early May, in
permanent ponds, marshes,
and bogs. Egg masses may
hold as many 6000 eggs.
Tadpoles transform into frogs by
mid summer.
VOICE: A low croaking snore.
RANGE AND STATUS: Found
statewide. Once the most
abundant frog, but numbers
have fallen in recent years for
reasons that are unclear. Now
rare in some parts of the state.