I must admit I did not believe this bird thing one
bit... Of course I don't know squat about frogs,
except that one frequents my front porch often at
night and scares the bejesus out of me if I have to
walk doggie late at night.. So of coourse I had to see
for my self about this bird thing..
Food --
http://wwwa6.udic.org/~rrhudy1/frog3.htm#feed
Attack --
http://wwwa6.udic.org/~rrhudy1/frog2.htm#bull
Behaviour and Diet: Bullfrogs are dinural, often
sunning themselves on the banks of a water body then
deftly plunging to safety at the first sight or sound
of trouble. Once underwater they are able to stay
submerged for long intervals and will bury themselves
on the mud bottom until danger passes. In colder
climates they hibernate during winter. Bullfrogs will
eat virtually anything they can catch and fit in their
mouths. They have large appetites and are usually
voracious feeders.
from
http://www.ualberta.ca/~rswan/ERAAS/bullfrog.htm
I believe ya' ; )
I got a lot of mess from a search on Excite
"bull frogs"
I also found some good info with a search
female +frogs
I didn't look at most of it, but I got enough to no
longer be shocked and intregued..
Anji
--- Lisa J Gibbs
__________________________________________________
> (male) bullfrog, about the same size. It stayed around for a couple weeks,
> but hasn't been seen for almost four days. Makes me think the female
chased
> him off.
Or ate him. !!!!!! :-)
Sorry, couldn't help it. You've got me LOL!!!!
I'd have some frog legs for dinner..........
Jen
This is not a BAD frog, it is just a frog!! I would agree that you should
not try to relocate it. It is part of your little ecosystem and it may
become the prey of some other predator at some point, so she won't be there
forever.
Debbie in Williamsburg, VA
Gibbs
Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2000 6:00 PM
To: GARDENS@lsv.uky.edu
Subject: Bad, bad frog
Hello all,
From our kitchen window, I can see our little garden pond, where our
resident (female) bullfrog has been stalking birds lately. This morning, I
saw a commotion, and sure enough, the frog had caught a sparrow and was
pulling it under the water. We have already had four bird deaths, but this
was the first time I had actually seen the frog attacking a bird. I rushed
out and rescued the sparrow, held it in a towel until it got over the shock,
let it go in a big patch of alyssum and gallardia, and watched until I saw
it fly away.
There are some things I don't understand about this. One, why in the world
is this frog going after birds? and two, although I am not enamoured of
sparrows, and I usually say things like, "Let nature take its course," why
was my heart pounding with anger as I felt like punching that bad frog right
in her (it's a female) big green mouth?
A couple of weeks ago, some neighbor kids brought over some smaller frogs
they had caught at a park. When they brought them home, they didn't;t know
what to do with them, so they asked if they could let them go in my little
pond. I said OK, and we watched as about seven frogs were released into the
pond. Then, this same bad, bad (hungry?) frog ate five of them. Five! One
didn't even go all the way down, its feet stuck out of bad frog's mouth all
the next day!
So all you frog experts (I hope there are some out there!), should I be
supplementing this frog's diet of bugs and whatever with something? It has
been in this pond since it was a tadpole, and it has grown to be HUGE, so it
must be eating well, even without the occasional bird snack. The pond also
has fish, including scads of young minnows, and she doesn't seem to be
interested in them.
Is bad frog just being territorial? One of the donated frogs was another
(male) bullfrog, about the same size. It stayed around for a couple weeks,
but hasn't been seen for almost four days. Makes me think the female chased
him off.
I am tempted to relocate the frog and just enjoy the birds, but DH says, no,
the frog is part of the pond life now and is doing a great job of keeping
the mosquito population down.
Any thoughts?
Lisa from W.MI (Teddybear, and very infrequent post-er)
The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anyplace else on earth!
Debbie,
I'm worried. What happens when she gets big enough to eat the kids????
Goldfish are much safer.
~~ OR ~~
Try a diversion trap. Combine a cup of vinegar, a cup of sugar, water, and
one banana peel in a gallon container and hang it from a tree. Mosquitoes
will move over to that bait and leave you alone...hopefully.
Barb in Southern Indiana Zone 5/6 dorsett@blueriver.net
Time is what keeps things from happening all at once.
My dear, what you are observing is nature in all it's glory and
reality. Frogs are carnivorous, and large bullfrogs will eat what
they can catch. You have a fairly small environment, and a
large predator, which is probably hard-pressed to supply it's
nutritional needs. You could try stocking your pond with some
feeder goldfish, but if this really bothers you, you'll have to get
rid of the frog.
Harry
!
Hello all,
From our kitchen window, I can see our little garden pond, where our
resident (female) bullfrog has been stalking birds lately. This morning, I
saw a commotion, and sure enough, the frog had caught a sparrow and was
pulling it under the water. We have already had four bird deaths, but this
was the first time I had actually seen the frog attacking a bird. I rushed
out and rescued the sparrow, held it in a towel until it got over the shock,
let it go in a big patch of alyssum and gallardia, and watched until I saw
it fly away.
There are some things I don't understand about this. One, why in the world
is this frog going after birds? and two, although I am not enamoured of
sparrows, and I usually say things like, "Let nature take its course," why
was my heart pounding with anger as I felt like punching that bad frog right
in her (it's a female) big green mouth?
A couple of weeks ago, some neighbor kids brought over some smaller frogs
they had caught at a park. When they brought them home, they didn't;t know
what to do with them, so they asked if they could let them go in my little
pond. I said OK, and we watched as about seven frogs were released into the
pond. Then, this same bad, bad (hungry?) frog ate five of them. Five! One
didn't even go all the way down, its feet stuck out of bad frog's mouth all
the next day!
So all you frog experts (I hope there are some out there!), should I be
supplementing this frog's diet of bugs and whatever with something? It has
been in this pond since it was a tadpole, and it has grown to be HUGE, so it
must be eating well, even without the occasional bird snack. The pond also
has fish, including scads of young minnows, and she doesn't seem to be
interested in them.
Is bad frog just being territorial? One of the donated frogs was another
(male) bullfrog, about the same size. It stayed around for a couple weeks,
but hasn't been seen for almost four days. Makes me think the female chased
him off.
I am tempted to relocate the frog and just enjoy the birds, but DH says, no,
the frog is part of the pond life now and is doing a great job of keeping
the mosquito population down.
Any thoughts?
Lisa from W.MI (Teddybear, and very infrequent post-er)
The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anyplace else on earth!
