Frogs

Only a few of the tracking guides include any information about frogs. For the Pacific Northwest, however, I can heartily recommend an excellent field identification guide Amphibians of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, by Corkran and Thoms (1996). This guide offers extensive information about range, habitat, size, and even toe pattern.

Tracks

Frog tracks are rather unique. Compare the foot structure of this Pacific Chorus Frog with the tracks in the next photo.

A bounding stride helps distinguish frogs from toads. Note the unusual arrangement of the four toes. Also look for the diagonal line of four impressions made by the toes of the hind foot outside the front feet.

Large Frogs

I discovered this set of tracks along the East Fork of the Hood River at about the 3,500 foot level of Mt Hood near Portland, Oregon. As the water levels dropped in mid summer for this glacial stream, fine silt was collected in a few places. According to John Puhn, a local authority, the habitat and size suggest Cascades Frog.

Some Cascades Frogs observed in the southern Washington and northern Oregon Cascades.

Small Frogs

Many of our frogs are quite small like this Pacific Chorus Frog. They leave little in the way of identifiable tracks, thus posing a real challenge for the tracker.

Terry Kem discovered this interesting example, however. A tiny frog jumped into the clump of grass, perhaps drank from the dew drops, and left a few grains of wet sand. These are among the smallest tracks I have recorded.

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