70 Nebraskaland • January-February 2020
By Chris Helzer
FROGS ON ICE
It was a balmy 30 degrees outside and I was in desperate
need of some fresh air, so I headed to Springer Basin
Wildlife Management Area west of Aurora. When I stepped
carefully onto the thin layer of ice, I was hoping to find and
photograph some interesting patterns on the frozen surface
of the wetland. I certainly didn't expect to come away with
photos of leopard frogs.
Leopard frogs typically spend the winter lying at the
bottom of a stream or pond where the thin skin along the
sides of their body allows for enough oxygen exchange
to keep them alive. However, while they enter a kind of
dormancy, they can still move around when they want to.
On this particular day, as the thin ice cracked around my
feet, I saw some leopard frogs swimming around beneath
the frozen surface. Once, when my foot punched through the
thinner ice near the wetland edge, a few frogs even popped
up onto the top surface of the ice and hopped/slipped around
comically for a few minutes.
I was a little surprised to see the frogs swimming around,
though I'd seen that a few times before. Having them come
out on top of the frozen wetland through the hole I created
was a little more startling, but understandable, given the
opportunity presented to them. However, about a half hour
later and a half mile away, I was shocked to find a few
different leopard frogs hopping easily around on top of the
ice as if they were just out for a morning constitutional.
Recovering quickly from my shock, I laid out prone on the
ice and tried to get some photos of them. While they weren't
as lively as frogs in the summer, they were more than hoppy
enough to make it tricky to get them into focus before they
moved away. I did eventually get some nice photos, and then
took the time to wonder what in the world those frogs were
doing on the ice. Even now, I'm still not sure why they were
there, but I'm grateful for the chance to spend a little time
with them.
Chris Helzer is The Nature Conservancy's director of science
in Nebraska.
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