Not Rare, but Rarely Seen

September 6, 2016 -- Stephanie sent these photos of a visitor to her windshield and then a paddle.

The gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor (aka: eastern gray tree frog, common gray treefrog, tetraploid gray tree frog) is actually a pretty amazing little creature. It is almost exclusively nocturnal and arboreal, living up in trees, which is why we don't see them often. They are usually found on the ground only during mating season, or catching bugs around porch lights.

These frogs can vary in colour, for purposes of camouflage, from nearly black to nearly white, depending on what they're sitting on. They are slower at this than chameleons. 

For more on our little neighbours, check out

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_tree_frog

Dam!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016 -- An expedition to the beaver dam on Long/Woods'/Boathouse Bay during the Labour Day weekend revealed an extreme rupture. This presumably was a result of very heavy rains recently. Thanks to Alan and Lisa for alerting us to this. It explains the sudden dramatic rise in the lake's level, which seemed excessive despite the torrential rainfall. We saw no evidence of any efforts by the beavers to rebuild the dam. Yet.

We then made for the Outlet, where we discovered our tail-slapping friends had been busy, and outflow was reduced to a trickle. Willie, Kathy and Clare played in the muck for a bit and restored a reasonable rate of flow. How long it will last is a question for the beavers. We'll check again in a couple of weeks.

The dam in Long/Woods'/Boathouse Bay is really more of a channel.

Clearing muck from the clogged outlet.