View allAll Photos Tagged graytreefrog
July 22, 2017
A visit from a jouvenile grey tree frog
(hyla versicolor). Almost invisible on the bark of this pear tree.
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2017
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Shot with a Canon 7D.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
July 13, 2022
A young grey tree frog in its green phase. This guy is only a couple cm long.
(Hyla versicolor)
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2022
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 11.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
Adult colour is usually a mottled gray or brown but individual
frogs can change their colour to green - juveniles are green
- males have a dark-coloured throat while that of females
and juveniles is white - Ontario's largest tree frog (6 cm)
On the evening of August 17th, I was headed out the front door to take photos of the moon. To my surprise this sweet little tree frog was clinging to the glass on our storm door! I was able to place it gently in a clear box and create a temporary habitat, so that we could enjoy observing it for a short time and take some photos. I even caught some bugs for it, which it readily ate. The frog is called a Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor) and very seldom leaves the trees it lives in, usually only to mate, but this is not their breeding time. I read that they may be attracted to porch lights, where they can easily find insects. It was released with no harm done. (Size of this frog is only 1 5/16th inches long and 3/4 inches wide (measured with legs folded).
www.inhs.illinois.edu/collections/herpetology/data/ilspec...
Photographed along the Seven Bridges Trail in the Van Loon State Wildlife Area in northwestern La Crosse County, Wisconsin.
It had been years since I'd last seen one of these beautiful Common or Eastern Gray Treefrogs (Hyla versicolor). I remember going out with my father as a child to find them in the evenings, chasing after their trilling calls, which I even learned to imitate so that I could trigger their songs again when they fell silent. These highly arboreal frogs are typically gray or green, depending on their mood and environment. Interestingly, they freeze in the winter! By generating large amounts of glycerol and, ultimately, glucose, they are able to freeze without ice crystals forming within their cells and destroying them. Their hearts and breathing stop for the winter and they rejuvenate come the spring thaw!
July 23, 2021
This young grey tree frog (hyla versicolor) was hanging out in the milkweed patch today. The milkweed is loaded with tiny flies and other critters, which I'm sure this little guy loves to eat.
The grey tree frog can change color based on its mood and surroundings. On the big milkweed leaf, he has taken on a shade of green.
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2021
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 11.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
Just how crazy do you have to be to drive someplace to take a photo of a rather common frog that someone else saw the day before?
Wait - it gets worse.
So I went to the Great Swamp because Robert (a.k.a. Cappy0161) found a female Gray Tree Frog yesterday in a knot hole about 8 feet off the ground by the boardwalks. These are pretty common frogs, but pretty tough to locate, so I decided to try to get some shots of the same frog. Not so crazy yet?
Wait - it gets worse.
I figured that I wouldn't be able to get any decent shots from the boardwalk because I would be too low. My tripod wouldn't be nearly tall enough. What to do? I brought a step ladder. So there I was with my camera, backpack and, of course, a ladder. Fortunately, I only saw a few people (all of whom now think that I am totally crazy). I headed off down the boardwalk towards my prize. Following Robert's directions, I quickly located the frog (amazingly) and set down my ladder. I then looked up and she had dropped back into her hole. So I stood there for almost an hour waiting for her to come back out, all the time being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Wait - it gets worse.
My wife came with me, but, instead of coming to look for the frog, she stopped at a nearby greenhouse and spent several hundred dollars on plants. But enough about her. I finally gave up waiting for Robert's frog and set out to find my OWN frog. I found this little guy after about 1/2 hour of wandering around, looking for trees with knot holes. Fortunately, he was only about 6 feet off the ground, so I didn't need my ladder, which I had taken back to the car. UNfortunately, I did not bring my tripod because I figured that I wouldn't be able to use it on Robert's frog. I had my wife's car, so my tripod was back home in my car keeping out of the rain that was beginning to fall.
Anyway, I did manage to get some shots of this one (I believe it is a male) using a thrown together combination of a 100-400 zoom with a 2X Teleconverter, a 36mm Extension Tube, a flash and a monopod (photo not cropped). So 800mm and 1/100th of a second - sometimes you just get lucky!
Taken in New Jersey, USA
© Steve Byland 2008 all rights reserved
Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited
Perched at the edge of a water-lily leaf, a tiny gray tree frog surveys the pond domain that it was swimming in as a tadpole just a few days before.
I love frogs almost as much as birds, maybe more. The Gray Treefrog is fairly common in the Great Swamp, but they can be maddenly difficult to find. They often hide in the crooks of trees or in knot holes, as this one did. I somehow managed to catch a glimpse of light off of him. (BTW - I may have chosen the wrong subspecies here).
I really blew this photo up and enhanced the image to make the frog more obvious. In the field and the photo, it was almost indistinguishable from the tree. Also, the light was awful, so way underexposed the photo and then blew it out with the flash.
Taken in New Jersey, USA
© Steve Byland 2008 all rights reserved
Unauthorized use or reproduction for any reason is prohibited
Hyla versicolor
In July 2014 this handsome amphibian inhabited our back deck. It particularly liked a table containing two bonsai, which I watered most regularly so it was always damp. The frog often snoozed under one of the pots. It was keenly watchful of me while being photographed, but I couldn't tell whether this perturbed it. It did not try to escape as leapord frogs will do immediately. It could hop but was more nimble as a climber. This treefrog can change colours to blend with its surroundings, relying on camouflage for protection. However, its choices being green or grey, the creature was at a loss on our red deck. I only ever saw it lichen green.
I have rarely observed treefrogs because they inhabit trees. So it was a treat to see this one regularly for a few weeks. It afforded me several opportunities for photo sessions. I'm adding five archival photos now (2019) to provide a more complete portrait. They're combined with four shots I shared at the time in this album: flic.kr/s/aHsmH7JhbM
Our son and I were out in the yard playing and found this little guy. Our son was quite interested but wouldn't get close at first. Finally able to get my son to let me put the little tree frog on his arm. After that I couldn't get our son to put him down. Lol Pretty neat little frog.
Canon 6D Mark II
Canon 100mm Macro
1/80 sec
f/3.5
ISO 1250
Gray tree frog hanging out in the raspberry patch. It was very hard to see him/her, especially with all the hopping from leaf to leaf.
The Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) and the Cope's Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis) are two species of tree frog found in the United States. They are almost indistinguishable and share much of the same geographic range, although the Cope's tends to be more southerly.
The only readily noticeable difference between the two species is the call. The Cope's has a faster-paced and slightly higher-pitched call. In addition, the Cope's is reported to be slightly smaller, more arboreal, and more tolerant of dry conditions than the Gray Treefrog.
Both tree frogs inhabit a wide range, and can be found in most of the eastern half of the United States, as far west as central Texas and Oklahoma. They also range into Canada in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, with an isolated population in New Brunswick.
Both tree frogs are most common in forested areas, as they are highly arboreal. Their calls are often heard in rural residential areas of the East Coast and the Midwest. They prefer to breed in semi-permanent woodland ponds without fish, but also lay eggs in swamps, vernal pools, man-made fountains and water gardens, and even in rainwater filled swimming pool covers
Both species are variable in color, mottled gray to gray-green, resembling the bark of trees. They are relatively small compared to other North American frog species, typically attaining no more than 1.5 to 2 inches (3.8 - 5.1 cm) in length measured from nose to vent. Their skin has a lumpy texture, giving them a warty appearance. The female is usually larger than the male.
Both have bright-orange patches on their hind legs, which distinguishes them from other tree frogs. The bright-yellow pattern is normally hidden, but exposed when the frog leaps. This "flash pattern" likely serves to startle a predator as the frog makes its escape. Both species are slightly sexually dimorphic. Males have black or gray throats in the breeding season, while the throats of the females are lighter.
Last but not least, both frogs are variable in color owing to their ability to camouflage themselves from gray to green, depending on the substrate where they are sitting. The degree of mottling varies. They can change from nearly black to nearly white. They change color at a slower rate than a chameleon. Dead frogs and ones in unnatural surroundings are predominantly gray.
ISO400, aperture f/10, exposure .003 seconds (1/400) focal length 300mm
July 23, 2021
This young grey tree frog (hyla versicolor) found its way into the shirt I left on the deck last night. He did his best to blend in...
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2021
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 11.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
July 23, 2021
This young grey tree frog (hyla versicolor) found its way into the shirt I left on the deck last night. I lifted him out and placed him on a big pepper plant. Hopefully he'll find some juicy bugs there!
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2021
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 11.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.