Most of the time when I am lucky enough to spot a Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea), the frog appears to be sleeping. Why is that the case? Many frogs spend their time in the water and have an easy way to regulate their body temperatures. Tree Frogs probably need to avoid direct sunlight and I suspect they are more active earlier and later during the day.
Yesterday afternoon the rain finally stopped and the skies were gradually clearing, so I decided to go out with my camera. I spotted this tree frog when I was walking along one of the trails at Huntley Meadows Park, a nearby marshland park that I have avoided the last few years because it tends to be overcrowded. The frog was perched in the crotch of a small tree just off of the trail.
When I first saw the tree frog, it had its front feet tucked under its head and appeared to be dozing, as you can see in the first two photos. I experimented with slightly different angles and formats and can’t decide if I like the landscape format of the first photo or the portrait format of the second one.
Later in the day I passed the frog again and it seemed to be a little more alert. The frog had pulled one of its feet out from under its head and appeared to be daydreaming.
When I returned home from my outing, I decided to take a cue from the frog and took a short nap.
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Mike Powell 