Gainesville FrogWatch USA at Santa Fe College

03/21/2026

Happy World Frog Day!

March 20th is World Frog Day! 🐸 Here in Florida, we have a lot of frogs and you can learn to identify them by their calls. Yes, very much like bird calls, different species of frogs have different calls.

Online Guide 🐸🎶 Florida Frog Calls

If you learn to pick out the species of frogs (and toads), you can quickly know a lot about the habitat, the season and even the individual’s personal message. They call out for breeding purposes, to mark territory, to alert each other about predators and in response to the weather.

Our online guide has audio of many species you will typically hear in our state, as well as seasonal chorus tracks of multiple species, and a modern addition – the Cuban treefrog.

Listen: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-herps/florida-frog-calls/

Note for local frog fans:

March 24 📌 Science on Tap: Ribbit & Sip It
Leap into the strange and fascinating world of frogs with our herpetologist David Blackburn at Cypress & Grove Brewing Co.
Event details:
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/science-on-tap-ribbit-sip-it-3-24-2026/

02/01/2026

Have you taken a Training Course with us and want to get certified? Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 6 pm at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo. We'll start right on time so everyone can get home quickly, so please try to arrive early.

01/11/2026

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05/13/2025

Happy Frog Jumping Day!

Scientists believe frogs learned to jump before they learned to land. Frogs of the genus Brachycephalus, also known as pumpkin toadlets, are decent jumpers but disastrous at sticking the landing.

Beacause of the small size of the frog’s vestibular system (the structures within the ear that govern balance in vertebrates) the frog gets totally disoriented in midair, causing it to crash land with every hop.

While awkward, this is still an effective escape to evade predators. The jump puts distance between the frog and its attacker. Despite often landing upside down, the frog lays perfectly still. Often the predator loses track of the frog after being disoriented by the jump. Since the hunter can no longer sight the frog, it moves on in search of easier prey.

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05/02/2025

🌙🐸 Calling all night explorers and frog fans!

Join us this Saturday, May 3 from 6:30–8:00 PM at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo for a FREE nocturnal adventure during Museum in the Parks with the Florida Museum of Natural History !

✨ As we kick off Amphibian Week, you’ll get the chance to:
🎧 Listen for local frog and toad calls
🔬 Learn from the experts at USGS and Santa Fe College FrogWatch
🌿 Discover how YOU can become a community scientist

Perfect for families with K–6th graders, this event includes hands-on activities, a hike through nearby natural areas, and an up-close look at museum specimens.

👟 Bring your flashlight and wear comfy shoes—this is a nighttime nature walk you won’t want to miss!
📍 Meet at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo
💵 FREE event – just show up and get ready to explore!

🐸 Can’t get enough amphibians? Come back on Sunday!

🎉 Sunday, May 4 | 9 AM – 1 PM
Celebrate the incredible world of frogs, toads, and salamanders with fun for the whole family!
✅ Hands-on activities and games for all ages
✅ Meet conservation experts
✅ Learn how to help amphibians in your own backyard

🗓️ Sunday Presentation Schedule:
📍 9:30 AM – Weird and Wonderful World of Amphibian Biology – Dr. David Blackburn
📍 10:30 AM – FrogWatch USA: Local Calls and Croaks – Jade Woodling & Dr. Cody Godwin
📍 11:30 AM – Discovery and Declines of Amphibians – Dr. David Blackburn
📍 12:30 PM – Invasive Frogs of Florida – Dr. Steve Johnson

🎟️ Sunday activities included with regular zoo admission.
More info: www.sfcollege.edu/zoo/visit
🐸 Amphibian Week info: t.ly/srp_0

Let’s leap into a weekend full of discovery and frog-tastic fun! 🐸💚

04/24/2025

City Nature Challenge starts tomorrow!

Run by the Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM), the CNC is an annual four-day global bioblitz at the end of April, where cities are in a collaboration-meets-friendly-competition to see what can be accomplished when....

03/11/2025

Tree frogs seem to disappear during a forest fire. Do they migrate? Do they die? A researcher set out to find them.

02/22/2025

Artificial light at night impacts more than 20% of the Earth's surface—and it’s growing fast! Research shows that artificial light at night speeds up the development of American toads, reducing their growth by 15%, and even changing their nighttime behavior.

These effects can carry across all stages of their life, highlighting the need to dim the lights and nocturnal ecosystems. To learn more about how “Artificial light at night decreases metamorphic duration and juvenile growth in amphibians” visit https://bit.ly/3EPsVDV

05/14/2023

Happy Frog Jumping Day!
Did You Know?: The longest jump in a frog jumping contest is 3 ft 11.64 in (1.21 m) and was achieved by Noa Möller (Sweden) at Palatset in Stockhom, Sweden, on 19 November 2011.

Did You Also Know?: The 3 inch (7.62 cm) long Sharp-Nosed Frog (Ptychadena oxyrhynchus) holds the world’s record for the longest leap by a frog relative to body size at 10.8 feet (3.3 m).
To equal that, a 5 foot (1.5 m) tall person would need to jump 220 feet in one leap!

Happy Frog Jumping Day!
Happy Amphibian Week!
and Happy Year of the Amphibian!
and if one week isn't enough, we have you covered. We will be celebrating all year long so stay connected to not miss a post.

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05/09/2023

Have you been wishing for some FrogWatch swag? Thanks to the Akron Zoo, there's some great items available online! The proceeds that the zoo receives will be going to maintaining FrogWatch.

Akron Zoo Online Store

04/14/2023

April is Citizen Science Month! Check out this podcast highlighting FrogWatch USA.

Make your spaces safer for frogs or contribute to citizen science projects to help study them.