Change to timing for evening frog monitors:
The goal of evening monitoring is to monitor species richness (the number of different frog species found at a location). Calling code is largely a function of the timing of the survey. Missed surveys and poorly timed surveys can result in a skewed picture of species presence.
By looking at the data collected through the years, we discovered that date is a better predictor of species calling code than air temperature.
With this in mind, we have identified 3 different time periods that will produce a high likelihood of hearing all possible frogs if all 3 visits are made.
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April 14-21: wood frog, Western chorus frog, spring peeper, Northern Leopard frog
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May 14-21: gray treefrog, green frog, American toad, mink frog, Northern Leopard frog, spring peeper
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June 14-21: American bullfrog, green frog, gray treefrog
We will be asking evening frog monitors to plan one visit in each of these timeframes.
What about daytime frog monitors?
The goal of daytime frog monitoring is to obtain records of western chorus frogs (a species at risk). Western Chorus frogs are early spring callers. The timing of monitoring visits will not be altered from the previous method - make 3 visits from late-March to early-May, with at least 24 hours between visits. This timing is still suitable for targeted observations of western chorus frogs.
