Sheltered Gray Treefrog / by Todd Henson

Sheltered: A large gray treefrog resting on the rail

My neighborhood isn’t the sort of place I expect to find wildlife, and yet I do continue to find it in small numbers and especially in small forms. One that I’ve seen and photographed a few times now are small gray treefrogs, which seem to like my steps and railing.

Let Me Sleep!

I found this particular frog in the early afternoon one Sunday as I was heading out the door. Out of the corner of my eye I happened to see a shape I wasn’t used to seeing on the end of the railing at the base of my front steps and did a double take when I noticed this good sized gray tree frog sheltered in curve of the metal raining, sleeping off the day and waiting for night to head back out and about. The way the sun sets it picked a perfect position to shelter its eyes from much of the light. I had to bring up the shadows a fair bit in post-production to let you see its eyes.

Gray treefrog closeup

As you can see, its eyes were open, so it was aware I was there, but it didn’t see me as a threat and just remained resting as I slowly moved closer creating photos. The last photo gives a decent view of one of this frog’s eyes. Look at the interesting patterns there, and the little bits of color, like the orange in the eye and the green just below it. I never get tired of viewing these amazing little creatures.

For more, check out the two previous posts where I had encounters with gray treefrogs at the front of my house:


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