Be a frog friend

The Forecaster brings to our attention that it is that time of year when the peepers start their peeping, and the Maine Audubon Society seeks for volunteers to keep track of all those little green and brown guys. Ribbit! Hop to it, oh ye green-loving citizens of Maine! Need is strongest in northern and downeast areas of the state. Photo by Michelle Souliere (c)2007.

Volunteers sought for frog survey
(published: April 24, 2008)

FALMOUTH – It’s the time of year when noisy Maine peepers herald the beginning of spring.

It’s also the time that Maine Audubon is sending out a call for volunteers across the state to listen for and note the sounds of frogs on several evenings through the early summer.

Although the heavy snow cover and a cold spring delayed the season by about two weeks, the spring peepers can now be heard along the coast of Maine and as far north as Acadia National Park, Maine Audubon wildlife biologist Susan Gallo said.

Gallo is asking for volunteers to help in the Maine Amphibian Monitoring Project, which will survey Maine’s amphibian populations for the 12th consecutive year.

Volunteers are asked to conduct two-hour roadside surveys and commit to helping with the project for three years. Ideally volunteers will have e-mail and Internet access, Gallo said.

People who want to volunteer will be asked to take an online quiz on frog calls before being asked to make 10 stops along an assigned route, waiting five minutes at each stop to list the frog species they hear.

Maine has nine species of amphibians, and usually only a few are heard at any one time, Gallo said.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Gallo at 781-2330, ext. 216, or sgallo[at]maineaudubon.org . Potential volunteers can take the frog quiz, designed by the U.S. Geological Survey, at www.pwrc.usgs.gov/frogquiz
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An updated list of areas still in especial need of volunteers can be found here. At the time of this post, the following areas were targeted for recruitment: St. John, Chapman, Greenfield, Madison, Caucomgomoc Lake, Bridgewater, Moose Mountain, Dickey, Bootford, Penobscot Lake, Musquacook Lake, Oakfield/Stair Falls, Patten, Pittston Farm, Ellsworth, and Tunk Lake.

The Maine Audubon Society hosts a headquarters for information about the Maine Amphibian Monitoring Program, which can be found online here: http://www.maineaudubon.org/conserve/citsci/mamp.shtml