Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Spring transition

After field work near Mendocino on Sunday, we were walking up a coastal bluff and noticed some shallow pools off to the side of a small stream running along the rocks towards the ocean.  Looking down, some movement caught our eye:

 

Little wriggling tadpoles!

We followed the stream up to a small wet seep near the bluff.  Soon we saw tiny, newly-metamorphosed froglets (~1 cm long) jumping among the vegetation.

This one landed and nestled on the leaf of a Seep Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus):


 


And here's one with wet feet:

 

Good luck little treefrogs!

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1 comment:

  1. Doerte MannMay 22, 2018 at 11:22 PM

    Wow, Jackie, this has been quite a week: Breakfast with Spike the Pelican, a really fascinating stubby squid with mesmerizing emerald eyes - I couldn't stop watching him, or was he (or her) watching me?, the footprint of a limpet's home, kelp so beautiful you think it is a museum's piece from a place far away and long ago, and tadpoles metamorphosing into treefrogs - of course I know that they do this but how how exactly do they pull this off? I am pretty amazed. And looking forward to next week's adventures. Doerte

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