Pacific Treefrog Gallery

Pacific treefrogs can vary in color from green to brown or a mixture of the two. All of these pictures are from Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington.

My Enemy Has Become My Friend

Ordinarily the tall green grasses that grow each year at Ridgefield are my enemy. As the spring progresses, the grasses get so tall that they block the view of many of the ponds around the auto tour. On this day, however, they became my friend. As I walked the short trail to the observation blind, a nice couple saw my camera and pointed out a treefrog next to the path. It was clinging to a tall blade of grass amidst the other foliage. The frog was much more tolerant than other treefrogs I’ve seen at the refuge and I eased my tripod into place until I found a nice pleasing green background.

As other visitors came up the path, I passed on news of the frog as it had been passed to me, backing out my tripod so everyone could get a good look and take their own pictures. I ended up taking fewer pictures than I normally would have but even so ended up with a couple of my favorite pictures.

Pacific treefrog clinging to a blade of grass at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Pacific treefrog hidden in the grass at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Framed

I was hiking on the Kiwa Trail and although I saw a lot of treefrogs, I had a difficult time photographing any of them. This frog was a little more cooperative than most, although a bit buried below a bunch of tall grass. I couldn’t get the original shot I wanted, so I used two out-of-focus blades of grass to frame the image.

Pacific treefrog sitting on a footbridge at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Coming Out of the Woodwork

One spring as I crossed a long wooden footbridge on the Kiwa Trail, it literally seemed like frogs were coming out of the woodwork. The green ones were easy enough to spot at a glance but the brown ones required a closer look. The frogs often hid between the planks, just in case I was a hungry heron, but emerged when they felt safe.

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