Boathouse on Little Long Pond

There was a lot to notice while walking around Little Long Pond in the foggy weather this morning. The shadbush was blooming and the beech leaves were unfurling out of their cigar-like buds. There was one quiet loon on the water, parula warblers in the tree tops, and red winged blackbirds among the cattails. 

Best of all was this strange, persistent low creaking noise that I thought at first was some sort of grub eating its way through a tree trunk. When I kept on hearing it more and more, in greater and greater numbers, I realized it must be some type of frog. I thought I was pretty familiar with frog sounds, but I don't recall encountering this one to quite such an extent before.

In any case, as I discovered later (thanks to my wife), it was pickerel frogs. I'm familiar with this frog, but guess I've never heard it croaking in large numbers before. Delightfully weird when alone by the shore of a beautiful pond on a foggy morning.