365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Camoufrogged
Day 262: Watching where you step is very important when you're searching for rare plants and the occasional Fungus of Worldwide Concern ("FOWC"). While glopping through the gloopy mud at the edge of a bog, I was mildly startled when several brownish-green blobs leapt for the safety of the denser forest. Although I'd had my eyes peeled for Cascades Frogs (Rana cascadae), I had not spotted them until they moved, and then they seemed to be everywhere. Fortunately, my footfalls set off vibrations in the soil well in plenty of time to alert them, but of course that made approaching one for a close-up all the more difficult. Still, sometimes stillness is the best adjunct to camouflage, and this fine froggy froze in place. I moved in slowly, careful to keep my shadow from falling on my photographic prey as I knelt down in the wet. When I stood up again, I noted how effective this species' markings are in making it blend in with its environment. Only the symmetry of the eye gives it away.
Labels:
amphibians,
Cascades Frog,
FOWCs,
Location 2,
MORA,
Rana cascadae
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