As a new Virginia Master Naturalist, I’m always on the lookout for new guides and publications relating to nature for our region. One such book I recently purchased is A Guide to the Frogs and Toads of Virginia. This new guide, put out by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), covers all 27 species of frogs and toads that inhabit Virginia. It’s a guide meant to help with identifying the frogs and toads of our state, and provide insights into their ecology, distribution and behavior. Included with this guide is an audio CD of frog calls to help identify frogs and toads by sound.

As a child, I loved frogs. There was nothing more I enjoyed than catching a big bull frog along the edge of a nearby farm pond. I spent many a Saturday and Sunday knee deep in the mud doing just that. Now, as a gardener, I like them for different reasons. Frogs and toads eat lots of insects and are a sure sign of a healthy ecosystem.

If you’re into frogs like myself, be sure to get a copy of this new Virginia guide, and by next spring you’ll be impressing all your gardening friends by identifying, via sight and sound, all of the frogs and toads in your area.

Copies of this publication can be obtained at the Department’s Richmond Headquarters or online here – https://www3.dgif.virginia.gov/estore/proddetail.asp?prod=VW256

With land development and pollution, frogs and toads have been on decline in recent years. Check out the homeowners guide to protecting frogs published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/documents/Homeowners_Guide_Frogs.pdf

If you enjoy citizen science projects, the following offers further information and opportunities to help.

> Frog Watch USA is a nation-wide program managed by the National Wildlife Federation in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey: www.nwf.org/frogwatchUSA

> The North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) is a collaborative effort among regional partners to monitor populations of vocal amphibians. The Wildlife Diversity Division of the VDGIF has participated in the NAAMP since 1999: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/WILDLIFE/frogsurvey/