#RBWinterWildlifeWednesday - Green Frog

On today's edition of #RBWinterWildlifeWednesday, let's explore the Northern Green Frog, the largest of the six frog species found at R.B. Winter State Park!

One of Pennsylvania's most abundant frogs, the Northern Green Frog can be found in every county of the state. They are commonly found along the edges of ponds, lakes, swamps, marshes, rivers, and streams of various sizes. At R.B. Winter State Park, you'll often see them lounging by Halfway Lake, either in the grass along the water's edge or in the shallows along the shoreline. Adults can grow up to 4 inches in length and sport a mottled blend of green and brown that aids in their camouflage. During late spring and summer walks along Halfway Lake's shore, you can listen for the distinct mating call of the males, resembling the pluck of a banjo string. While they are active throughout the day, they become more active around sunset, with dozens of males calling out around the lake after dark.

Males use their calls to establish territories that they actively defend from other males and to attract females. Females can lay between 1,000 and 7,000 eggs in the shallow water along the lakeshore, which hatch within 3 to 6 days. Once hatched, tadpoles are completely independent and capable of fending for themselves. In Pennsylvania, they typically remain in their larval tadpole stage over the winter until the following spring, when they begin metamorphosis. During metamorphosis, tadpoles increase in size, grow legs, and absorb their tails. Upon reaching adulthood, their growth rate dramatically slows, and they establish a territory around the lake for themselves. Adults typically live for 5 to 6 years and have been known to live up to 10 years in captivity.

Northern Green Frogs primarily feed on insects, snails, and small fish. Larger adults have a broader diet that includes other frogs, amphibians, reptiles, and any other organisms they can swallow. Predators of these frogs include wading birds like Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, Snapping Turtles, Northern Watersnakes, various fish species, and mammals such as Raccoons—and yes, even humans! In Pennsylvania, management of Northern Green Frogs falls under the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, which establishes seasons and catch limits similar to other game species.

The next time you're at R.B. Winter, watch for these fascinating creatures and the other wildlife that can be found at R.B. Winter State Park!

Photos by Friends of R. B. Winter State Park Board Member Kyle Fawcett.

#RBWinterWildlife Wednesday - Eastern Towhee

On today's edition of #rbwinterwildlifewednesday we are featuring one of the many species of birds that can be found at R. B. Winter State Park, the Eastern Towhee!

Eastern Towhees may be found across Pennsylvania, where you'll frequently see them near clearings and thickets within open woodlands or in forests regenerating from forest fires or logging. Males have a distinctive coloration with a black head and black, reddish-brown sides and a white stomach. Females are similarly colored to males, only differing in that their head and upper body are more brownish colored.

Eastern Towhees are one of the most widespread and common birds found in Pennsylvania. Males are often seen perched high in trees, singing and protecting their territory from interloping males. If you've spent much time in the woodlands of Pennsylvania, you've undoubtedly heard these birds as they scour the forest floor for food. When searching for food, they often turn over leaves by hopping backward and dragging both feet across the forest floor in search of beetles, bugs, spiders, moths, seeds, and berries in a display whose volume drastically outweighs their small size.

The next time you're hiking the Rapid Run Nature Trail or other trails around the park, keep your eyes open for the Eastern Towhee!

Photo by Friends of R. B. Winter State Park Board Member Kyle Fawcett.

#RBWinterWildlife Wednesday - Eastern Red-spotted Newt

Good Morning Everyone!

Today, we are thrilled to kick off our new weekly series of posts, #rbwinterwildlifewednesday! Get ready because every Wednesday we'll feature a new species of wildlife that calls R. B. Winter State Park home.

To get us started, today, we're featuring one of the park's most well-known wild animals: a Red Eft! These little salamanders are the land-dwelling juvenile stage of an Eastern Red-spotted Newt. Adult Eastern Red-spotted Newts lay their eggs in Halfway Lake and the many woodland pools in the park and surrounding Bald Eagle State Forest. There, they'll spend three to five months in their larval stage after hatching. In the late summer and early fall, the larvae metamorphize into the familiar bright orangish-red salamanders and begin emerging from the waters where they were born. They'll spend the next two or three years wandering around the forest floor and can often be seen traveling or hunting worms, snails, and insects on rainy days.

Their bright coloring isn't just for looks; it warns potential predators that they'll not make a good meal as they produce a neurotoxin that saturates their bodies and can cause vomiting and other effects in anything that tries to eat them. After several years of wandering through the forest, they'll transition to their adult stage and turn yellowish to olive green. Their tail flattens out to allow them to swim easier, and they'll find a pond, lake, swamp, or slow-moving stream where they'll live for the remainder of their lives.

Photo by Friends of R. B. Winter Board Member Kyle Fawcett.

Be sure to join us next Wednesday to see what species of wildlife we feature next!