Photography by John Caplis
Nature and wildlife photos are just like landscapes, they benefit from good light! I went down to the Neabsco Boardwalk Park at sunrise to see what I could see. There were plenty of critters crawling about, and the marsh vegetation was covered in dew glistening in the first light of the day.
Green tree frogs are common along the edges of marsh areas in the coastal areas of the Mid Atlantic. They can be found clinging to cattail reeds, or the stalks and leaves of various soft green marsh plants.
Getting ready to jump off a cattail.
Enjoying the warmth of the morning sun.
Green tree frogs range in color from light to dark green or olive-brown. They can change their tones to more closely mimic their surroundings in an attempt to evade predators. This tactic works well as these frogs are often very hard to spot.
This frog has mastered the art of disguise, and has become one with the cattail.
I had heard reports that there was a “blue tree frog” at Neabsco Boardwalk Park. In my quest to photograph this elusive animal, I made several trips to the park. During a late afternoon visit, I saw many frogs, but no blue ones. Nevertheless, I enjoyed photographing the green frogs in the warm light before sunset.
During my mid morning trip, I was joined by four or five other photographers, all scanning the marsh looking for this ghost of a frog. We looked for over two hours without any luck. I was getting ready to pack it up and head home, when out of the thick marsh brush emerged the mythical “blue” green tree frog. Perched on a stem ten feet from the boardwalk, surrounded by plants swaying in the wind, sat the object of my desire. I questioned whether this shot was going to happen, but patience and repeated efforts to snap the shutter as the plants swayed away from the frog finally resulted in several images with a clear view of this stunning sky blue tree frog.
“Blue” versions of the green tree frog are caused by a rare genetic abnormality that results in the frog having no yellow pigment in its skin.
Update: I returned another morning, and found a different “blue” green tree frog. This one was like a leopard version. It was blue with green spots!
Update #2: On another morning outing at the park, we discovered another unusually colored tree frog. This one was not blue, or spotted, but lemon yellow! Nature is full of surprises….
