Pacific treefrog

Vertical Climber

A Pacific treefrog sits vertically in a moss-covered tree, all soaked with rain on an October morning, beside the trail to the observation blind at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. I was crestfallen when I realized I had forgotten my tripod and wouldn’t be able to photograph the frog (and another nearby on the same tree), but then I remembered I had my adapter to put Canon lenses on my Sony camera and thus was able to use both my Canon macro lens and the image stabilization of the Sony. It saved the day and thankfully so, it turned out to be the last time I saw them before leaving the Northwest.

Catch, Dunk, Swallow

They say pictures never lie but they can certainly give the wrong impression. This American bittern, swallowing a treefrog it just caught, caught it further away from the water but came down to the water, dunked it, and swallowed it. As adults treefrogs often live near water but spend most of their time on land (and more often near the ground rather than in trees). The bittern has covered both its eyes with a nictitating membrane to protect them as it flips the frog down towards its throat.

Your Treefrog, Sir

Thank you, little bittern, but you keep it. I insist.

Framed

As I hiked the Kiwa Trail at Ridgefield, I saw many treefrogs but none that I could photograph until I found this well-hidden frog. It was more cooperative than the others and I like the way the out-of-focus blades of grass frame the image.