Green tree frog - jumbo sized
 

So the other day I was down at the shooting gazebo taking photos. I'm planning on screening it in so I can do some shooting without having mosquitoes and yellow flies biting the hell out of me, and I wanted some pics that I could look at to see how I will need to mount the screen brackets.

I'm standing there and I hear what sounds like footsteps coming from behind me. So I turn around expecting to see Connie walking up. Eh? No one there. Then I heard another "footstep" right by my left foot. I look down and see this very large brilliantly green tree frog sitting there. At first I was flabbergasted because it was so much larger than other tree frogs I have seen around here, and SO starkly uniform green that it looked fake. I still suspected Connie was there, and threw this rubber tree frog at my feet. This theory got blown when the tree frog looked up at me. Of course I completely forgot that I had my camera in my hands. So this *fake* frog then takes another couple of leaps (again sounding like foot steps in the dry leaves) and goes under the gazebo.

I finally regained my wits and laid down to peer under the gazebo, and luckily the frog hadn't gone completely out of sight. So I was able to snap a couple of pictures of him, but unfortunately the angle isn't all that great. But better than nothing I suppose.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...g_large_01.jpg

I'm guessing that the body length was around 3.5 inches or so. I have no idea what kind of tree frog it is, as the usual green tree frogs we see around here are normally no more than half that size.

But this was just a noteworthy day (02-22-2020) for herptiles anyway. Earlier in the day Connie spotted a good sized gopher tortoise in the yard. We haven't seen one larger than a youngster we monitor in his little burrow in quite a while. Not sure where this larger one is living at, as he seemed to be just passing through and not interested in hanging around here.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...2222020_01.jpg


http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...2222020_02.jpg


http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...2222020_03.jpg

Some days are just like this around here. You just never know what you might find.

Had another jumbo sized tree frog at the front door the other night. This one wasn't as big as the other one, and spotted on a green background instead of just entirely green.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...5282020_01.jpg

The latter is a barking tree frog. The former probably is, too (they can change color to a degree, but it has the body form). I only see them once in a while on my property, but I enjoy those instances.

I would have to inspect it in person to be sure, but your gopher tortoise visitor looks like a female to me from what I can see.

Ah.... Thanks for the ID.

I'm just glad the first one didn't growl at me when it was at my feet. I was already unnerved as it was by the phantom foot print sounds. :D

Connie noticed another rather good sized tree frog sitting on a palm frond alongside our walking path today. Probably somewhere between 2.5 and 3 inches wrong by my guesstimate.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...1242021_01.jpg


http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...1242021_02.jpg


http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...1242021_03.jpg


http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/pics...1242021_04.jpg