Wood Frog Tadpoles Emerging

The peak emergence of juvenile Wood Frogs from vernal pools in our area usually occurs around July 4. Notice the long tail remaining on one of the juveniles pictured above (from a pool in south Newton). Eggs are usually deposited in early to mid-April. Although Wood Frogs are common to abundant throughout eastern Massachusetts, they are rare in Newton (see earlier post, "Wood Frogs Calling"). Wood Frogs breed in Cold Spring Park and have now been documented to breed in the Newton section of the Charles River Reservation in south Newton. It is also likely that Wood Frogs occur in the Kennard Conservation area as they have been documented in the abutting Lost Pond preserve in Brookline. I have not been able to locate this species elsewhere in Newton, and doubt that it still occurs at other locales. Please report your observations of this species (and others) by posting a comment.