The wild kingdom

[LovelyLadyLux]

I do live next to Mother Nature and if it isn't bears it is cougars and if not them then Killer whales or eagles, sea lions, salmon and on and on.

TODAY the topic is BULLFROGS!

One of the neighbours was complaining to another neighbor that a bullfrog has taken up residence in her backyard fish pond and she suspected it was eating her pond fish! Another neighbor queried if it might be a BULLFROG because apparently and I never realized or knew this - bullfrogs are not native to here, have been slowly making their way uninvited across Vancouver Island and are pushing our all our native frog species.

The one neighbor advised that if it was indeed a bullfrog it should be reported to "FROG WATCH" which is a group out of the University studying this matter.

She then forwarded this around to all of us so as to educate us (Ok I asked her to send it to me cause I just NEEDED TO KNOW ) on the bullfrog issue.

Fairly interesting read.

Last year I had a really big frog living up by the house but I didn't think too much about it. I know I'm hearing the bull frogs all the time right now as they're in full breeding bellow and, as the article says, their croaking can be heard up to a kilometer away.

I can attest it is super loud and just does not stop this time of year.

On another note I often find little tiny frogs amongst my outdoor potted plants. HOW they manage to get up into the plants on the back deck is beyond me but they are there and living in the pieris bushes. Going to have to look at them next time I see one to see if I can tell what kind of frog it is.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch/ ... llfrog.htm

[Horus]

A very interesting read LLL and like many invading species they are hard to control or to stop, we have the same problem with the introduced American Grey Squirrel which has caused the demise of our native Red species.

[Grandad]

I don't think I like Bullfrogs LLL. Never seen one but they seem to be cannibals to me and will eat anything even their own.

But I do like all the wildlife that you have around your home although I expect some can be destructive. Why don't you get a trail cam? Sounds like you would get plenty of short vids.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I've been thinking re: trail cam. Part of my thinking on it is where would I actually mount it? My own backyard is totally fenced and the decorative bamboo gates I could step over (they were only about 38" high) have now been replaced with a 5' and 6' high gate(s) of solid cedar. The backyard is now secure and deer won't just jump - taking a leap of faith so to speak - where they can't 'see' where they'll land. Wasn't going to grow a garden with tempting lettuce/beans/peas only to have them step over a fence and then nibble their way through the yard destroying all the plants I've planted veggie and otherwise. Not that deer really frequent this particular area. I'm too close to wilderness with cougar and bears so they tend to stay closer to the salt water area.

Bears will climb or just smash their way though a wall but they'll also take the path of least resistance and I've never once thought a bear would smash its way into the backyard just to SEE what I have inside. Cougars could/would jump but I just don't think a cougar would bother itself to come into my backyard however, on the other hand the TWO LEGGED Predators are now going to have to really TRY to get themselves into my yard vs just stepping over a fence.

Anyway back to where I'd put a trail cam .... immediately outside my fence which leads to an Eco walking trail that is fairly well walked are lots of ground plants - blackberries, salal etc so mounting a camera low won't work to say nothing that the land actually drops fairly steeply from my yard down to the walking path. I could mount a camera down on the trail but then I'd run the risk of a two legged animal taking it. I'd thought about mounting it half way UP the fence pointing down but it would still be really visible and there is a path from the trail UP to my back gate and from there you can walk (not easily but you can get along the back of the fence so that wouldn't really work either)

I think it would be interesting to see all that goes through the back area as I'm positive we'd get bears at a minimum. Wolves a remote maybe. Cougar - hmm - maybe they're in the area (matter of fact Conservation just found and, had to sadly put down although I'm not really following the rationale of it, a group of 3 cubs they found extremely emaciated. The Cubs (looking to me to be maybe around 6 (?) months old) killed a backyard dog and were eating it. They figure the Mom was gone and so the cubs were slowly starving to death as they hadn't really learned to hunt. There was a zoo that after the fact said they'd confirmed they'd take them so no answers as to why they put down all three. Usually Conservation isn't fast on doing that so ?? as to why these three were put down)

There is all manner of water fowl out there and, I'm positive bull frogs. I hear the nightly croaking right now and will have to see if I still have the big guy up here by the shed. If I do I could easily catch and freeze him. This past winter was terrible so am sure it took quite a toll on all the animals. They would have had a super hard time getting on in all the prolonged snow.

As for the frogs themselves - wow - they're definitely something else. I'd never really read about them before and had no idea they were literally eating their way through the swamps and marshes here. There are lots of quail out there so, am sure, baby quail would be easy enough to catch. Same with all the ducks who live there. Not too sure if they'd be able to grab a goose or swan but they're there seasonally too.

[Horus]

LLL, could you maybe mount a trail camera disguised as something else? say inside of a bird feeder on a post inside your property, but high enough to look down over the fence?