Larch Creek Birds

What the birds (and frogs) are saying at a creek in western Washington
Plate 37
American Bullfrog
Edward Knobel, c. 1890s
Frog

American Bullfrog

Lithobates catesbeianus
Ranidae
Frog
Summer visitor. Expected here roughly Apr to Sep.
Field marks
A huge green to brown frog with an eardrum bigger than its eye (in males) and no ridges down the back.
Male & female
Males have a yellow throat and larger eardrums; females are bigger overall.
Voice
The deep 'jug-o-rum' bellow of males on warm nights from late spring to midsummer, like a tuba with a cold.
Diet
Anything that fits in its mouth, which is a larger category than you would think: insects, other frogs, small snakes, ducklings, mice.
Habitat
Permanent ponds and slow water with plenty of vegetation.
Nesting
Floating egg masses of up to 20,000 eggs in early summer; the tadpoles take up to two years to transform, which they do without any evident hurry.
Size
Up to 8 in long and 1½ lb: the size of a dinner plate and the weight of a can of chili. The largest frog in North America.

Native to the eastern US and introduced here, where it eats native frogs and generally behaves like a guest who has moved in. Mostly silent in autumn; October detections may be another sound.

Season how expected it is here, week by week

50%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecheard at the creektoday
Fig. 1. BirdNET's range model for this location: the chance this species is present in each week of the year. Orange ticks mark weeks it has actually been heard at the creek; the dashed line is today.

At the creek 3 calls on 2 days, first Oct 29, last Oct 31

1200:00 — 0 calls001:00 — 0 calls02:00 — 0 calls03:00 — 0 calls304:00 — 0 calls05:00 — 0 calls06:00 — 0 calls607:00 — 0 calls08:00 — 0 calls09:00 — 0 calls910:00 — 0 calls11:00 — 0 calls12:00 — 0 calls1213:00 — 0 calls14:00 — 0 calls15:00 — 2 calls1516:00 — 1 calls17:00 — 0 calls18:00 — 0 calls1819:00 — 0 calls20:00 — 0 calls21:00 — 0 calls2122:00 — 0 calls23:00 — 0 callssunrisesunset
Fig. 2. When it calls: all detections by hour of day (today's sunrise and sunset shown).
12Oct 2 — 0 callsOct 3 — 0 callsOct 3Oct 4 — 0 callsOct 5 — 0 callsOct 6 — 0 callsOct 7 — 0 callsOct 8 — 0 callsOct 9 — 0 callsOct 10 — 0 callsOct 10Oct 11 — 0 callsOct 12 — 0 callsOct 13 — 0 callsOct 14 — 0 callsOct 15 — 0 callsOct 16 — 0 callsOct 17 — 0 callsOct 17Oct 18 — 0 callsOct 19 — 0 callsOct 20 — 0 callsOct 21 — 0 callsOct 22 — 0 callsOct 23 — 0 callsOct 24 — 0 callsOct 24Oct 25 — 0 callsOct 26 — 0 callsOct 27 — 0 callsOct 28 — 0 callsOct 29 — 1 callsOct 30 — 0 callsOct 31 — 2 callsOct 31
Fig. 3. Calls per day over the last 30 days.

From the encyclopedia

The American bullfrog, often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a species of large frog in the family Ranidae. The species is native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, ponds, and lakes. The bullfrog can also be found in manmade habitats such as pools, koi ponds, canals, ditches, reservoirs and culverts. The bullfrog gets its common name from the sound the male makes during the breeding season, which sounds similar to a bull bellowing. It is a generalist carnivore, consuming a wide variety of prey. In turn, it is eaten by predators such as alligators, snakes, and birds.
From Wikipedia, "American bullfrog", CC BY-SA 4.0.