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Find a Frog in February

Why are frogs so important? They eat large amounts of invertebrates, including houseflies, mosquitos, cockroaches and spiders, and they're an important food source for other wildlife, including birds, reptiles and mammals.

Be part of future decision making that affects our environment; look out for frogs this summer, and particularly in February. Help increase our knowledge of frog activity to determine ‘normal’ trends and to monitor for and understand population changes.  

Frogs are in our neighbourhood and are easy to find during the warm months, especially when rain is about. The Mary River catchment and surrounds support approximately 45 frog species. Nearly ¼ of these are vulnerable, endangered or have disappeared, mostly due to reduced habitat quality and extent as a result of swamp draining, vegetation clearing and weed invasion. 

Other pressures include predation by feral animals (cats eat around 44 frogs each per year (CSIRO, 2020) and diseases that can kill frogs, such as the Chytrid fungus. 

Changes to our climate are adding further pressure, particularly prolonged dry periods that can drastically reduce the breeding window for frogs, alter food webs and increase the possibility of devastating wildfires.

Frogs rely on both aquatic and terrestrial habitats to complete their lifecycle. They are sensitive to substances passing through permeable skin and are therefore key indicators of change. 

Every frog record counts as worrying trends of decline are becoming apparent. But, over the past seven years, people of the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Gympie and Fraser Coast local government areas have submitted nearly 20,000 records of 38 species to the Find a Frog in February program!

We offer these suggestions to help your local frogs:

• Make your frog observations count – submit your photos and/or call recordings to FFF or a reputable database (see below).

• Keep some areas ‘messy’ – logs and branches, leaf litter, rock piles, tall grass (a ‘high-rise’ structure provides homes for more beings than a single story dwelling).

• Provide water – ponds, dams, swamps, low areas that fill when it rains, creeks – all with a variety of vegetation, structures and even some bare areas.

• Don’t move eggs, tadpoles or frogs about – this increases the risk of disease spread.

• Keep pollutants out of the environment – chemicals travel easily in water that flows across the land, along drains and through the soil profile. Soap is a frog’s enemy!

• Disinfect your shoes and equipment if moving between water bodies to stop the spread of frog diseases (use 1% bleach solution for 1 minute or dry items out completely). 

• Promote the protection of waterways and water quality in your area.

• Consider protecting and reinstating wetlands (billabongs/swamps) that are grazed and/or have been drained or modified.

• Keep your cats indoors at night as they hunt frogs and other wildlife.

• Know the difference between Cane toads and native frogs and take care if you are controlling Cane toads. 

• Act to reverse climate change (see 10 actions at un.org/en/actnow/ten-actions). 

There are four ways to send in your observations:

• FFF record sheet at mrccc.org.au/frog-in-february/ – complete and send photos in for identification, verification and entry to the Queensland WildNet database. 

• Email findafrog@mrccc.org.au with your photos and/or audio recordings for identification and lodgment.

• Join the ‘Find a Frog in February’ project in iNaturalist and submit your photos and recordings of calling frogs. 

• Join the ‘Find a Frog in Feb – MRCCC’ group in the FrogID app to submit your call recordings.

For more information contact: findafrog@mrccc.org.au or phone (07) 5482 4766

Happy frogging!

Find a Frog in February is proudly supported by the Sunshine Coast Council, Noosa Shire Council, Gympie Regional Council and the Fraser Coast Council, and delivered by the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee.