Glades: The birds & the bees… and the frogs

By Steve Eisenhauer, Regional Director of Stewardship and Land Protection

The wood frogs have been out in large numbers at many of our preserves, including Glades Wildlife Refuge. Males are loudly calling during the day for females, and some–like the ones I photographed here–are finding love.

The wood frog is believed to be the most cold-tolerant frog species in North America, and is the only frog found above the Arctic Circle.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website notes, “Wood frogs are well suited to a cold climate. They spend winters burrowed in the leaves that fell the previous fall. They stop breathing, their hearts stop beating, and ice crystals form within their hibernating bodies. A special antifreeze they produce keeps liquids from freezing inside their cells and killing them.”