Saint Louis Zoo Looking For Frog Watchers

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Saint Louis Zoo is encouraging citizen scientists to volunteer with FrogWatch USA to monitor frogs and toads in area parks, fields, creeks, and their own backyards. The information, the zoo hopes, will lead to practical ways to stop amphibian decline.

You don't have to be an amphibian expert to join FrogWatch, and for anyone who thinks frogs and toads are icky, that's fine too — you won't have to touch them. All you need, according to the zoo, is an interest in frogs and toads and the time to attend a training session. Volunteers will be asked to commit to monitor a site of their choosing for at least three minutes twice a week during the local breeding season, which typically runs from February to August.

“In just a couple of hours, we will train you to distinguish the croaks, peeps and various calls of the 10 most common frog and toad species around the St. Louis area,” said Michael Dawson, an education conservation liaison at the Saint Louis Zoo and coordinator of the St. Louis chapter of FrogWatch USA. “Breeding calls vary greatly and are often mistaken for birds or insects. Their volume ranges from a soft musical trill to a deafening chorus.”

Three FrogWatch training will be held this spring at Broemmelsiek Park and Shaw Nature Reserve. Advance registration is requested. The program is designed for adults, families, students entering grades 9 and up.

2018 Training Schedule:

• Friday, March 16 — 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Visitor Center at Brommelsiek Park
• Wednesday, March 21 — 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Carriage House at Shaw Nature Reserve
• Wednesday, March 28 — 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Carriage House at Shaw Nature Reserve

For more information, training registration, and to hear some frog calls, visit stlzoo.org/frogwatch.

Photo by Dan Kitwood/News/Getty Images