Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer). Chorus frogs with arboreal and terrestrial tendencies about the size of your thumbnail, spring peepers are one of the smallest species in the state. This was the first year we made a Spring Peeper episode due to the upgrade in camera gear.
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) Wood frogs are a member of the pond frog (ranid) family. They are around 2.75 inches long, with females getting slightly larger to 3.25 inches long if they live long enough.
Wood frogs can be distinguished from other pond frogs by the distinct black facial markings, which many commonly refer to as a “robber/bandit mask”. They are a generalist, eating many invertebrates. They are more terrestrial than other pond frogs and compete with American toads in woodlands, forests, edge habitats, and some suburban areas.
Female wood frogs can lay approximately 3,000 eggs. Wood frogs can be found in mountainous areas and in deeply forested areas away from water. The primary population of Wood Frogs in Frog Week congregates high on top of a mountain.
Wood Frogs are one of the primary frog species we film for Frog Week. We rescue their tadpoles and allow kids to raise them into baby wood frogs and return them to their original habitat.
Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris). These frogs are the least studied and documented in Frog Week. Finding and conserving them is one of the primary goals of this project. They are a primary frog along with American toads, gray tree frogs, and wood frogs, but they are not seen as commonly.
Pickerel frogs live around ponds and larger bodies of water. They are also found far away on roads, deep in forests, and even on top of mountains. These frogs measure around 3-4 inches long. Pickerel Frogs can lay from 700 to 3,000 eggs.
American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) American toads were the most documented anurans of Frog Week 2025. They are one of the primary anurans filmed because of their abundance, our bias for them, and their generalist preferences; they can live everywhere.
American toads can measure around 3-4 inches. Most females and a few unusual males can measure around 4 inches. Females can lay around 8,000 eggs during the breeding season.
American toads are known to eat invasive insects like spotted lanternflies. If hungry enough, they can eat smaller snakes, field mice, praying mantids, and smaller frogs. It is said an American toad can eat up to ten thousand insects in one field season. They eat many pests like ants and stinkbugs, too!
American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus). This is the largest frog in Pennsylvania and has been featured in Frog Week more recently.
Females lay up to 20,000 eggs in a single clutch, often forming large surface rafts of floating jelly. Typically breeds from late spring to mid-summer; warmer climates may see longer or multiple calling periods.
In backyard ponds, bullfrogs often decimate populations of smaller amphibians and insects. In this year's episode, the bullfrogs were eating the toads in the backyard, which led to a dramatic crossroads.
One of the year’s most impactful achievements was receiving a grant to launch Critter Talks in the Classroom, an outreach program bringing real conservation projects into Pennsylvania schools. Six schools and ten classrooms participated in this pilot year, helping raise 20 wood frog tadpoles.
Native carnivorous plants, including pitcher plants and sundews, were also raised in classrooms. These plants were purchased from the Maryland-based Carnivorous Plant Nursery, allowing students to understand the delicate ecosystems these unique plants share. Captive-bred millipedes, donated by Josh’s Frogs, a Michigan-based exotic pet company and conservation partner, were also part of the educational materials.
Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans). One of the most abundant pond (ranid) frogs in Pennsylvania. Their mating call sounds like a banjo string, and they are late spring to late summer breeders. They are one of the newest frogs filmed this year in Frog Week 2025.
From vernal pools to permanent ponds, green frogs find a way. This episode explores how their adaptability gives them a competitive edge over species like wood frogs, gray tree frogs, and even American toads. Frog Week examines how subtle competition can lead to ecological imbalance among native species.
Male green frogs measure around 3 to 4 inches long, and females measure over 4 inches long. Green frogs can dominate the resources and outcompete many other frogs and toads. This episode dives into the life of the Northern Green Frog—one of Pennsylvania’s most adaptable amphibians and a species with the power to shift the balance in any ecosystem it inhabits.
Green frogs prey on young frogs just as they emerge from the water and are taking their first breath. They eat smaller adult frogs like spring peepers, gray tree frogs, and wood frogs, and anything they can overpower.
Adults typically measure 1.25–2 inches in length. Males are smaller with dark throats; females are larger and lighter below. Males may call from shrubs and logs near ponds, not just from trees.
Gray tree frogs hide in tree holes, under bark, in birdhouses, or even behind window shutters. They convert glycogen to glucose to prevent ice crystal damage in cells and can survive with 60–70% of body water frozen.
This year, we rescued, raised, and released an eastern gray tree frog back to the wild. Here is the cute baby placed in a tree away from predators and filmed taking its first look at the habitat it was originally from.
Dive into The Woods Uncut and witness the realism, emotion, and ecological wonder inside a 242-gallon enclosure.
Join Ananias II, Junia, and Baldwin in a battle for survival and renewal as they hunt grasshoppers, caterpillars, and roaches. This episode is a story of rebirth—for the habitat, and for the heart behind Frog Week.
The last episode saw stories that did not have enough for featured episodes, so a compilation of shorter stories collectively told the story of even more happening behind the scenes for Frog Week 2025.
American toad tadpoles were raised and returned to a location that had a miraculous season where the vernal pool nearly dried out multiple times. Still, when it was at its bleakest, the rain returned to allow hundreds of baby American toads to develop and emerge from the pool. 15 American toad tadpoles were transformed and returned to their original location.
The gray tree frogs of Somerset were challenging to film and record audio; only brief clips could confirm their presence.
In 2025, Frog Week also secured a mini-grant from Josh’s Frogs to launch an acoustic monitoring project. Field teams recorded calls of American toads and Eastern gray tree frogs in several locations. These recordings are the first step toward a future machine learning program, envisioned to help the public identify frog calls in real time, similar to the popular Merlin Bird ID app. This innovative blend of conservation and technology could redefine public amphibian monitoring in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Special thanks to Michael Zboran for proposing the project and helping to collect data and train the machine.
A private iNaturalist Citizen Science project was launched to allow the public to submit photo and audio vouchers of frogs across seven counties. With nearly 300 records submitted by 11 participants, this effort is helping build a secure database of amphibian presence and distribution while keeping exact locations hidden from potential poachers. This data is crucial for mapping trends and improving field protection strategies. This screenshot was taken on August 22, 2025.
Special Thanks to Josh's Frogs for sponsoring the project for all seven years and for the opportunity to apply for the grant.
Special thanks to the Community Foundation For The Alleghenies for the support from the grant that funded the Critter Talks this year.
Credits:
Woods and Forests Media and AAron Capouellez