Night Adventure in Conecuh National Forest: Frog Study with Herpetologist Jimmy Stiles

If you’re interested in learning to identify frogs by their calls, there is no better way to do it than a night hike out into the global amphibian hotspot of Conecuh National Forest. For Ardmore’s Naturalist Studies program, this was on our list. 

We grabbed minnow nets and flashlights and followed Herpetologist Jimmy Stiles through a maze of longleaf out to a pond a few miles from the Solon Dixon Center. 

We were in a remote location, but the sound was deafening. It seemed impossible that we would ever learn to pick out individual calls in all that racket. Jimmy took out a high-beam light and shined it out over the pond. 

"See those glowing dots reflecting back at us? Those are gators. Ten... eleven...twelve."

We aren’t used to alligators in North Alabama, but they stayed on the opposite side of the pond, just like Jimmy said they would. He waded into the water and one by one, pulled different species of frogs and newts from the pond. Jimmy helped us learn their sounds and identify their markings, and as we worked our way around the pond, we realized that we could identify individual frog songs amidst the chaotic croaking and clicking. 

In addition to amphibians, Jimmy pointed out some aquatic insects and other critters common in the ecosystem. It was a learning experience that we could never have had in the classroom. 

Thanks to Jimmy Stiles for donating his time for this programming and to AMV RC&D and The Dekko Foundation for their financial support. 

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