Mayhem Moment

This is a true story. It happened on the evening of August 12, 2008. Watching this opened my eyes as big as sewer lids.

The noisy Woodhouse Toads that were visiting this spring have moved on. Where they go I don't know. Where they came from I don't know either. I live in the desert and find it pretty amazing that there are frogs here at all yet alone at my place. They weren't here, then they were here and now they are not here.

We do have, however, what I think is an American Bullfrog. He is a pretty big boy or maybe a big girl. I don't know. I have read where the female American Bullfrog gets bigger than the male and see'n as we have a pretty good sized frog in our pond it just makes sense our frog is a she and not a he. Of course it doesn't really make any difference.

We also have a plethora of birds in our yard. This is primarily our fault as we have bird houses and a bird feeder. At this time of year the new birdies are out of the nest and learning to be self sufficient but still hanging around mommy and daddy birdies.

As my wife Ginger and I were eating dinner Tuesday evening we each took our usual seats. Ginger faces the window and I face the TV. The window faces the back yard and has a pretty nice view of the pond and Bookcliff Mountains... that's why Ginger gets that seat. We were eating and Ginger mentioned the frog was hanging out at the last waterfall. This is somewhat unusual but not unheard of. Usually the frog makes an appearance around dusk and can often be seen early in the morning. The last couple of days the frog has been hanging around the waterfall fairly consistently.

Why? We found out today as we were eating dinner. S/he was hungry.

Ginger said the frog just went under the water. I leaned toward the window to see what I could see. The frog then surfaced and was moving toward a bird getting a drink from the waterfall. BAM!! Just like that this frog launched itself through the air, about 2, 2 1/2 feet, catching the small bird in it's mouth and quickly returning to the pond. The bird was swallowed in less than 15 seconds from "launch."

Ginger and I both saw it. It was amazing to watch and didn't alter the flavor of the very tasty meatballs we were having for dinner but it did get me to thinking about having fried chicken pretty soon. I got out the binoculars to see if the frog was having any problems swallowing the bird but by the time I got them focused on the frog (only about 30 seconds as we keep them handy) the bird was down the hatch.

You would think a bird in the belly (is worth two in the bush... ha!) would last a few days but no. This glutton was back at it the next morning laying in wait for another unsuspecting bird.

I have to say I didn't know frogs ate birds. I checked it out on the Internet and the American Bullfrog is known to eat small birds (and anything else it can fit in it's mouth) and while I wouldn't have believed it before Tuesday night, I'm a believer now.

As a result of our witnessing natural mayhem in our mini nature preserve I am now drawn to the drama. This morning I was watching the frog laying in wait. A bird approaches. The frog submerges. The bird hops closer to the water. A ripple on the surface of the water. The bird hops closer. The frog surfaces. The bird stops... looks around. The frog moves closer. The bird flies away. Whew! I realize I have been holding my breath.

Soon a mourning dove lit on a flat stone near the pond. It started preening. The frog submerged (could this frog actually eat a bird the size of a mourning dove? Apparently s/he thinks s/he can). The surface of the pond rippled. The frog surfaced about 3 feet from the dove. The dove stopped preening and stared at the pond. The frog moved slowly forward.. only the eyes that sit atop it's head showing. The dove took a few steps toward the water. You could almost see the frog tense. Another dove lands nearby. The first dove stops and looks at the other dove. The second dove moves toward the water. The first dove stands still. The second dove moves to the water about 2 feet behind the frog. The first dove begins preening again. The frog starts to turn around toward the second dove. The second dove lowers it's head to get a drink of water. The frog is almost facing the dove. The dove stops lowering it's head... looks around. The dove flies away taking the first dove with it. The frog gives the bird to the birds (well, maybe I'm read'n a bit much into this).

Oh the drama. It makes you tired. I can't stop watching.