Once in several years, I encounter lots of, really lots of, frogs in forests of our neighbors. Maybe, this is such a year. About 2 weeks ago weekend, I walked quiet Joken Yato 常見谷戸 of Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森. A chorus of frogs silently echoing there. At the end of Joken Yato is a semi-pond where the Lovers try to maintain its former shape of rice paddy, though no rice has been planted for tens of years already. The place is a water source where a natural marsh is developing. In that sunny Sunday afternoon, shallow pond/marsh was a swimming pool for frogs.
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| Breast stroke! |
About a month ago in a different pond of Niiharu Forest, I found eggs of Montane brown frog. It was about time. They became frogs from tadpoles and decided to leave their nursery and to establish their adult life.
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| Eggs of Montane brown frog in Niiharu, February 2023. |
The size of a frog was about 10cm long. They had curving side body lines that ran from the back of eyes to legs, which is a signature for Montane brown frog. They sung … I’m now googling how to translate Japanese into English for frog song. Google says in English frogs sing reebeep-reebeep-reebeep or ribbit-ribbit … Nay. The guys in that Sunday afternoon did not sing like that. Maybe, frogs of reebeep are different kinds from Japanese Montane brown frog. In Niiharu, they sang more like … crook-crook-crook (not croak-croak) ...
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| Curvy side lines typical for Montane brown frog. |
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| Here. It’s a handsome photo, don’t you think? |
Roughly two weeks later after finding the eggs in Niiharu, I met eggs, or, rather, tadpoles of Montane brown frog in Yadoriki Water Source Forest やどりき水源林. All year round Yadoriki Forest has 3°C lower temperature than the lower-altitude cities and towns. On the other hand, it takes about 2 weeks for eggs of Montane brown frog to hatch. It means Yadoriki’s eggs were laid almost at the same time as those for Niiharu. It might say something … Yadoriki Forest would have larger biodiversity than for Niiharu. In the end Niiharu Forest is surrounded by concreted suburbia of Megalopolis Tokyo, whereas Yadoriki Water Source Forest is in Tanzawa-Oyama Quasi-National Park 丹沢大山国定公園. In the recent survey (; my post on March 10th), DNA testing for streams of Yadoriki Forest earned the pole position for its natural richness in the Prefecture. It’s hard to think the place is affected by the topical heat-island phenomenon. Still, Montane brown frogs in water source forest did the same as the city frogs in Niiharu … Global Warming?
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| Eggs or tadpoles I met in Yadoriki early March. |
Last weekend, it was raining but warm. In Yadoriki Forest already Kajika frogs started to sing with their beautiful voice … chirp-chirp-chirp. It was by males to attract females. Eventually, they find partners and the females lay eggs beneath the rocks in clean natural stream of deep mountains. Normally, they begin to do so in April. Last week would be some 2 weeks earlier than usual. Like cherry blossoms, frogs got up early this year to begin their activities sooner than usual ...
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| Raining … |
The last weekend when we patrolled the Yadoriki Forest, we heard soft crook-crook voices near a gutter of forestry road. They were quiet calls and different from Kajika frogs. We walked softly with bated breath, then saw lots of couples of Montane brown frog mating in the gutter. Already several females completed their once a year spawning. When a dry spell continues, the place becomes empty and in such a case, eggs would die … Early warmth and rain May let frogs be optimistic … I inserted my camera in a space between gutter lids and took shots. Below is what I got.
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| Oh so precarious eggs … |
… In this world, we’re transfixed in front of a concrete jungle without clear ending in sight … Frogs! Don’t give up! We stand with you whatever climate change does!
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