How many times have you walked near a stream bed or pond’s edge to only hear a bullfrog jump away? Darn, actually missed seeing it! I know an area where this often happens when I bird watch. But on this day I decide to find a a bullfrog and photograph one. The heat and time of day meant few hikers or bird watchers would be on this trail. Will this be a perfect time for me to challenge myself in locating a bullfrog?

Slowly and quietly I crept along a grassy edge of a stream. I had heard bullfrogs jump in the water so I moved very slowly to get closer to the area. Do you see the bullfrog’s eyes through the grass in the photo below? I enlarged the photo so you could see the bullfrog more easily than I did.

Blades of grass made it difficult for me to get a good photo. I moved closer, quietly, and assumed the bullfrog saw me as I certainly saw it. This is an American bullfrog found in Canada and North America. It is actually native to eastern North America and considered an invasive species here in Arizona. It is especially a threat to California’s red-legged frog. I moved closer and wanted to get a different angle. Soon I was stepping on grass blades folded over in the water. I stepped closer till my sneakers began to take on water. The bullfrog remains in position with what I think is a smile on its face.

I am thinking this bullfrog is a female. Its tympana are about the same size as the eyes, as you’ll see in the final photo in this post. Male bullfrogs have tympana larger than their eyes. I would love to see any frog shoot their tongue out and attack a prey. I have only seen that on nature program. They capture the prey in less than one-tenth of a second! Wow, and I certainly have no photography equipment to capture that action. But this was a good challenge for me and here is an American bullfrog!