Whoa, the Vernal Pool is erupting with green frogs! You can find it at the Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center & Woods Garden, the 2.2-acre outdoor gallery adjoining the Museum via a glass-enclosed exhibit space off of Kirtland Hall. More specifically, the Vernal Pool is next to the Eastern Screech-Owl Exhibit just across from the Song Bird Aviary. This pool teems with amphibian, invertebrate, and plant life both above and below the surface year-round, but is most visible RIGHT NOW. Vernal pools are temporary woodland and meadow pools that naturally hold snowmelt and rain runoff in the spring and early summer.
Some vernal pools, such as the pools at Mentor Marsh, are actively managed to enhance species success. Plants that may be found in vernal pools are: keeled bur-reed, yellow water lily, and pickerel weed. Many species of salamanders, frogs, and toads also use these pools for breeding. Aquatic insects, such as some dragonfly and damselfly species, find vernal pools a perfect habitat. The Museum’s Stewardship Program has restored vernal pools at the Grand River Terraces and Mentor Marsh. In visiting the Perkins’ Vernal Pool exhibit this summer you will undoubtedly get a close-up encounter with green frogs and possibly hear their call. They sound like a loose banjo string. Look for adults, tadpoles and 'froglets' - individuals in the transitional state between tadpole and adult.Can you find the green frog hidden in the photo?!?
Marty Calabrese, CMNH Wildlife Specialist
