Pickerel Frog

A pond will attract some fun creatures. Even a small man-made pond. Immediately after the pond at my cabin was put in, frogs began arriving. One species of frog that visits is a Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris).

A word of caution. The pickerel frog is the only poisonous frog native to the United States. You may enjoy picking up frogs but leave this species alone.

Sitting on the edge of the pond, a Pickerel Frog is perfectly still, as if to say, “You can’t see me!” Just waiting for its dinner to come by. Waiting to scarf down a meal. It could be an ant, a spider. Or if a beetle or some bug or other invertebrate were to come by it could be quickly be eaten by the hungry frog.

Caught by surprise the Pickerel Frog will jump into the pond to escape a predator that might come along. Predators include birds, snakes. And of all things, bull frogs and green frogs.

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Cooper’s Hawk


A garden with bunches of song birds cheerily partaking of the goodies put out at the feeders. Quite a busy scene. And then, “POOF!” in the blink of an eye everyone vanishes. Not a one to be seen. Totally quiet. Not a soul.


What just happened? Look into the trees. There, sitting perfectly still. It’s a Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii).

It’ll stay for a seemingly endless time hoping for a little bird to act a bit brashly. That little bird at risk of becoming the hawk’s lunch. The circle of life.


Cooper’s Hawks are remarkably similar to the Sharp-shinned Hawk and have many points of subtle difference. The one difference I try to keep in mind is size. The Cooper’s Hawk is about the size of a Crow while the Sharp-shinned Hawk is more the size of a Robin. Hard to tell though, if there are no other birds around to compare with. But keep size in mind if you’re lucky enough to see one of these beautiful birds.