There are some 36 species of frog recorded in Victoria ranging from the critically endangered and range restricted Baw Baw Frog Philoria frosti to the very common Eastern Common Froglet Crinia signifera which seems to call from every damp area. On a wet or otherwise quiet night of spotlighting, frogs are an excellent distraction and are much easier to find at night with a head torch than during the day. I have only recently started photographing frogs but it is becoming quite addictive. A number of species are not well studied or the Victorian population is poorly understood so there is good scope for exploration and investigation.
This key guide to Victorian Frogs is excellent – Link
Otherwise the Frog’s of Australia app for iOS devices is about the best $25 you will ever spend although it does take a hefty 800Mb+ of storage space – Link The app has detailed notes, pictures and calls of every Australian species and has a handy function that will show you the frogs likely in your current area which is very useful in narrowing down that cryptic call coming from the middle of a swamp.
My favourite frogs are Tree Frogs of the genus Litoria with the Blue Mountains Tree Frog – Litoria citropa being a stand out. Litoria’s are generally noisy and easier to find than some of the more cryptic species. Often they can be found far from water and some of them are poor climbers despite the tree frog moniker. Although I have never seen one and am very unlikely to the proposed area of the Great Forest Park provides protection for the critically endangered Spotted Tree Frog – Litoria spenceri – yet another reason to protect this area.
It is now into Autumn in Victoria and I have recently heard Pseudophryne semimarmorata (Southern Broodfrog) calling at Wilsons Prom on the Five mile road and at Churchill National Park in th aqueduct. Pretty keen to get out on a wet night soon to photograph! Watch this space 🙂