In the Category of Best Frog Ever, Bronzy Wins First Prize

Every spring, a new crop of frogs appears in my backyard pond. They’re usually frightened of me and my husband, but occasionally, we’ll get one that’s especially brave. The brave ones always get a name, and Don was our first named frog.

I didn’t know it at the time, but having Don in our pond was unusual. He was a Pig Frog, or Lithobates grylio, a fully aquatic species with a preference for large bodies of water. I don’t remember this specifically, but I’m guessing we were in a drought when Don showed up. There are many ponds in our area. Perhaps his was drying up, and he was searching for a new home.

Pig Frogs were named for their grunt-like call. As the owner of a pig, I can vouch for the similarity. Here’s an audio file.

Because of the high water table in my area, I built my pond in a large stock tank rather than inground. With the pond’s high sides, I was a little surprised when the first frog showed up. Surprised, but also delighted.

Envisioning a multi-frog household, I decided to make the pond more accommodating. Perhaps Don was particularly clever. Or maybe his jumping skills were way above average. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t expect the whole neighborhood to figure it out. My solution was to build a frog ramp.

The most common frog in our pond is Lithobates clamitans, commonly known as Bronze Frog or Green Frog. The ones we see in North Florida tend to be more bronze than green, so I prefer the name Bronze Frog.

We’ve named several frogs over the years. In addition to Don and Bronzy, there was Clive, Priscilla, Stanley, Vinny, and Jennifer. These were all fine frogs, but none could hold a candle to Bronzy.

Bronzy was completely unafraid of us. This wasn’t the only thing that made him unusual, though. Bronzy responded to us and appeared to enjoy our company. I certainly enjoyed his.

To avoid being spotted, most frogs will quiet down when people are around. Bronzy, on the other hand, usually started singing when we approached the pond. This was especially true when I talked to him. And I talked to him plenty. I’m sure he was hopped up on spring hormones and would welcome any audience. But I prefer to remember this as a mutual appreciation.

Bronze Frogs have a unique call. They are sometimes referred to as the Banjo Frog, as their call sounds like the twang of a loose banjo string. Here’s an audio file.

Thanks to his persistent calls and the easy-access ramp, Bronzy eventually attracted some females. He was excited and eager to impress, but his tactics were a bit boorish at times.

When the ladies were peacefully sunning themselves, Bronzy would suddenly rush over and invade their personal space. This never went well for him. The lady in question would immediately dive into the water and submerge herself. After the encounter, she usually stayed hidden for a while.

Good old Bronzy. He only had one move, and he never gave up.

We usually have several resident frogs, but they don’t always breed in the pond. I’m not entirely sure why, but I suspect it has to do with the water temperature. My pond is not in full sun, so the water stays pretty cold for much of the year.

The year that Bronzy was with us, we had an especially wet summer. The more it rained, the less we saw of the frogs. They had better things to do, and I didn't care for it. Bronzy would leave for weeks at a time, and as soon as I started to give up on him, I would hear him singing outside. It made me so happy to go out and find him.

Bronzy’s end-of-summer visits were always short-lived. And as soon as it grew cool outside, he and the other frogs left for good. I had hoped he might return the following year, but it didn’t happen.

I’m happy to have met him. And I’ll always remember Bronzy as the coolest frog ever.