It was about 5am on the 17th May that I remember hearing what sounded like a frog calling in the garden. I was thrilled. Mainly because it was a sign to me that a new life-form had found its way into the garden and seemed as time went on, content to stay.
After some research I confirmed it to be Lea's Froglet, Geocrinia leai or Green-bellied Froglet.
In the hunt I found some terrific websites such as A Frog Pond and the Frogs of Australia site.
The great thing about the internet is also being able to find recordings. This helped with identifying the wee thing even before I eventually un-earthed one as I was moving stones in the yard. I had a feeling it was nearby and was gently moving the rocks when I see it sitting there quite calmly. It was so tiny.
You can hear a recording of it here. In time there were two froglets that we could hear just about every night and quite often during the day. Up to about the end of June when - ironically, I put the fishpond in. I had to move one to shift some rocks. I heard them calling while we had a day of heavy showers and then they stopped all of a sudden. I have read that they are autumn breeders so this makes some sense but it is bizarre to have had them calling so frequently and then not hear even a sound out of them. For all I know they are still present in the garden, though because I have moved all the rocks into position I don't really have a need to go and interfere in the garden as much so there is no easy way of finding out until perhaps next autumn when they may call again.
In the meantime, I am working on making the place even more frog-friendly.
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