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+--- Thread: What happened to the coqui frogs? (/showthread.php?tid=22660)
What happened to the coqui frogs? - terracore - 03-15-2022
I noticed the coquis are suddenly quiet. It hasn't been cold enough to shut them up but I rarely hear them anymore. The first working theory was that the turkeys ate them but I listened last night and couldn't hear them in the distance either.
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - kalianna - 03-16-2022
I think they all came over to our house. Theyʻve been more quiet lately because itʻs been so dry but thereʻs plenty of them around.
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - HereOnThePrimalEdge - 03-16-2022
My theory, based on nothing more than correlation, is that the new brownish reptilian lizards eat them. Or eat their young.
The brown lizards started to become the majority in my yard about a year or two ago, and the coqui sounds started to decrease about that time.
The brown lizards are a strange creature. I walked up to my pond and saw one underwater, except for it's head. Then it ducked completely below the surface and I watched it submerged for a good two minutes. I haven't seen them eat bufo tadpoles or the young toads as they begin to climb out of the pond, but I think they might, as I collect them once a day when they hatch. Seem to be less now.
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - kalianna - 03-16-2022
Are you talking about brown anoles? We have plenty of those too but they seem to be diurnal while the coquis are nocturnal.
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - HereOnThePrimalEdge - 03-16-2022
kalianna,
Yes I think that’s the name. As you said they are diurnal, but apparently sleep 6-8 hours giving them some nighttime activity time?
I googled “brown anole couqui” and found this page showing one eating a couqui. I also read their diet includes almost everything, but I’m not staying up tonight with a camera hoping for the perfect shot:
https://www.anoleannals.org/2015/08/22/anole-eats-frog/
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - kalianna - 03-16-2022
Well, thatʻs very interesting but now Iʻm not sure who Iʻm rooting for. Itʻs the battle of the Puna Herpetofauna. (Yeah, I did look it up).
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - terracore - 03-16-2022
(03-16-2022, 12:39 AM)kalianna Wrote: Are you talking about brown anoles? We have plenty of those too but they seem to be diurnal while the coquis are nocturnal.
I've seen chickens fighting over a coqui frog during the day. They find them in the bushes and dispatch them quickly. That was part of my theory with the turkeys, as they have at least 3x the reach of the chickens, though I've never seen a turkey actually eat one and I'm not sure that they do, on the other hand I don't spend a lot of time watching them. I was just trying to connect the dots as to why the coquis are no longer drowning out the barking dogs, meth heads, and roosters. Sometimes one doesn't miss something until they are gone.
We haven't had the type of drought that would affect adult coquis. It's been raining less quantity but the frequency doesn't seem THAT much lower. Catchment tank is always full and nothing needs watering. But I guess that could be influencing the breeding process. It is interesting to read other's experiences.
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - terracore - 03-16-2022
They're back!
Heard them last night, though quieter than average.
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - malahini - 03-17-2022
Is it just me or are they much quieter on nights with a full moon? It's almost as if they think the sun is still up or something.
Very quiet tonight. Sometimes minutes pass without them making a single sound.
RE: What happened to the coqui frogs? - Ccat - 03-18-2022
Minutes with no coqui noise! That is odd.
We used to just say that the “coqui radio had turned on” when they started singing at night. It really sounded like you were hearing a radio playing in the distance. I enjoy them, as long as it’s not too loud. (Once in a while we might have to relocate something just on the outside of the house that had become a nest.)