Swamp Night

It’s a different world. For one thing, as dark falls, the swamp comes alive with sound. The frog chorus can be deafening.

Our Earth Day Frog Walk kicked off from the Environmental Education center at Black Bayou Lake NWR at about 7:15 p.m. Once on the trail among the trees, darkness fell quickly.

Near the beginning of the boardwalk we heard the banjo sound of bronze frogs, but they were soon drowned out by the steady chatter of the bird-voiced tree frog, the tiny frog with a big voice that really does sound like a bird.

A few yards farther on, the “cheep, cheep, cheep” of many cricket frogs filled the air with a softer sound. And whatever else was calling, the deep-throated croak of a bullfrog interrupted every so often.

We went to hear and see frogs and were not disappointed, but the swamp had another treat for us. When we got to open water, a 6-foot ‘gator was waiting to give us the eye. In fact at one point, he (or she) came closer to the boardwalk to get a good look at us!

BTW, the “red eye” is totally due to my speed light, but I love the slightly spooky effect in this photo. ‘Gators have black eyes.

Of course, at nightfall the mosquitos also made their presence known, ensuring that we didn’t linger too late on the boardwalk.

Black Bayou Lake NWR closes at sundown every day. It is necessary to get permission to be out there at night, so if you want to do a night walk in the swamp with your group, contact Louisiana Master Naturalists–Northeast or Friends of Black Bayou. We had a blast leading this frog walk and will do it again!