FrogWatch Project 2005
Friends of Sligo Creek

SLIGO CREEK "FROGWATCH 2005" NEEDS YOU
Have you ever listened to the sounds of spring wishing you knew your toad songs from your frog calls? Now is your chance to learn the amphibious sounds of Sligo Creek while monitoring the health of these sensitive populations in our watershed.

If you want to participate, but missed the FrogWatch Orientation sessions March 7 and 12, e-mail Michael Wilpers.

Come select a convenient site near your home where you will be asked to visit it once a week during the half-hour after sunset. You will listen for three minutes, then report any calls you hear, along with the current and recent weather conditions. It's a fun and interesting way to learn more about Sligo's eight resident frog species and help assess the health of the ecosystem that supports them.

The orientations will be led by Karen Nelson, a professional ecologist with the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland. You'll receive an information packet including reporting forms, directions to the sites, a chart summarizing the calls, and interesting facts about the frogs. Several excellent books on frogs, including two CDs of frog calls, will be available for purchase, thanks to the Audubon Naturalist Society.

To get a head start, you can visit the FrogWatch web site, see the latest inventory of Sligo frogs on our web site or look at Frog Sites along Sligo Creek.

Michael Wilpers
Chair, Natural History Committee