Perched at the edge of a lily pad, this frog at Lilypons Water Gardens was so small that I doubt I would have seen it by myself. However, one of my sharp-eyed fellow photographers spotted it and served as the hand model for the shot with the penny.
A helpful Facebook reader suggested that this is probably a Northern Cricket frog (Acris crepitans) and it certainly does look like the photos that I can find on the internet. Judging from the size of the penny, which is 3/4 of an inch in diameter (19 mm), I’d guess that the frog was less than 3/8 of an inch (9.5 mm) in size.
My fellow photographer tried to move the penny slowly into position, but, as I suspected would happen, the frog jumped away shortly after the second shot below. I would have liked to capture the frog in motion, but ended up instead with a shot of the vacant lily pad—the frog had jumped right out of the frame.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
This looks like an Eastern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans). Take a look at the following reference and let me know whether you agree. http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/frogs_and_toads_of_virginia.htm
Given that the frog was sighted in Maryland, I defer to the Maryland Herpetological Society, which lists the Eastern Cricket Frog as Acris crepitans crepitans, a subspecies of the Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans). I agree that the one in the photograph looks to be an Eastern Cricket Frog.
Great shot.
Thanks, Ed.
I’ve never seen a coin look so big!
The dollar may be shrinking, but the coins are still holding their size.
The scale of the frog is a testament to the quality of your photography, having to zoom in so far yet maintaining that crisp clarity in the image.
My kids and I used to love going looking for tiny baby frogs back home in Scotland. I keep meaning to do the same thing here each time frog season rolls around but somehow I always forget. Around one of our lochs, the whole ground was teeming with so many wee frogs it was almost impossible to safely take a step without endangering them.
Thanks, Laura. Earlier this year, I saw a bunch of tiny frogs at one garden that I visited and worried about squashing them when I was walking. There were only a few of these tiny ones that I saw this time and I was happy to be able to get some shots.
Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a frog that small. Nice shots!
This was in an area of the water gardens where they were growing water lilies for sale, so I was able to get really close to the water lily and get a macro shot.