Audubon at Home Sanctuary Species

Frog and Toad Species

Green Tree Frog at Huntley Meadows by Matthew Stein

Frogs and toads are one of the two classes of amphibians commonly found in Northern Virginia, the other being Salamander species. The less secretive and more vocal frogs and toads are more likely to attract your attention than the salamanders which spend most of their lives underground or under rocks.  From the guitar-like "goink” of Green Frogs to the chirping chorus of Spring Peepers to the long trill of American Toads, frogs and toads sing springtime and summertime concerts from wetlands, woods and, with a little help, from your backyard.


Frogs and toads start their lives exclusively in water as eggs and larvae (tadpoles). Adults extend their habitat to surrounding fields and forests, searching for shelter and food.

They can breathe through their skins which are permeable to water and air. Because of this,  their bodies are sensitive to chemicals, drying out and pollution, making them barometers of habitat and environmental change. Unfortunately these amphibians are declining because of habitat destruction, pollution, insecticide use and a lethal fungus called chytrid. The good news is that some of the same things that make your  yard a welcome habitat for  birds, bees and  pollinators can often attract at least one of the species of frogs and toads in Northern Virginia. If you can provide a place for them in your yard, they’ll not only entertain you with evening song, they'll help keep insects, mosquitoes and slugs in balance.

To learn more about ID, range, breeding, and behavior of all of our resident frogs and toads visit the Virginia Herpetological Society website.

Green Frog

Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans) are commonly seen, rarely traveling more than a few feet from water. They breed from Spring to late Summer. They like to overwinter in the water so deeper ponds suit them. Hear them calling from shorelines and floating vegetation.

Learn more about ID, range and their voices.

Photo by Tom Attanaro

Pickeral Frog

Pickerel Frogs (Lithobates palustris) breed in Spring. Adult frogs prefer dense herbaceous plantings around water. Common.

Learn more about ID, range and their voices.

Photo by Steve Roble

Spring Peeper

Spring Peepers (Pseudocris crucifer) breed in vernal pools and ditches. You can hear them calling in large choruses from trees, where they spend their adult lives hunting insects. Identified by the “X” on its back.

Learn more about ID. their range, and their voices

Photo by John White

Eastern American Toad

American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus) both adults and the fingernail-sized froglets are common hopping at night through yards near moist woodlands and meadows. Adults can forage over a half mile on humid nights. They often return  to the same daytime hiding place under logs, rocks and leaves. They breed from Spring to early Summer when the females attach long strips of several thousand eggs to pond vegetation long, shrill trill is unmistakable.

Learn more about ID, range and their voices.

Photo by John White

Fowler’s Toad

Fowler's Toads (Anaxyrus fowleri) look almost exactly like American toads but their call is very different; a buzzy trill that some say sounds like a crying baby. They tend to live  near shorelines and sandy areas, breeding February through March.

Learn more about ID, range, and their voices.

Photo by Jeff Beane

Gray Tree Frog

Gray Tree Frogs (Hyla versicolor) breed in ponds and pools surrounded by trees and shrubs. Newly metamorphosed tree frogs stay near the ground. Adults hunt insects and invertebrates in trees and shrublands, usually at night.

Learn more about ID, range, and their voices.

Photo by Tom Attanaro

Cope’s Gray Tree Frog

Cope’s Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysocelis) is a Gray Tree Frog look-alike, told apart by its call.

Learn more about ID, range, and their voices.

Photo by Jeff Beane

Wood Frog

Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus)  After early Spring rains dozens of Wood Frogs will gather in vernal pools for mating, making loud quacking calls.  This lasts for one or two weeks depending on the weather. After laying eggs, they disperse to moist wooded areas. Wood frogs produce cryoprotectants in their blood, a type of antifreeze  that allows them to withstand sub-freezing temperatures. Locally common but destruction of vernal pools affects them in developed areas.

Learn more about ID, range and their voices

Eastern Cricket Frog

Eastern Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans) are a mostly Piedmont species that prefer sunny, grassy pond margins. Only 1 to 1-½ inches, they resemble a small, warty toad. March through June they attach their eggs to the stems of pond plants.

Learn more about ID, range and their voices.

Photo by John White

Green Tree Frog

Green Tree Frogs (Hyla cinerea) are bright green frogs that breed in still ponds (even fish ponds) and marshes, attaching their eggs to vegetation. Juveniles often stay in dense vegetation around pond margins, eventually migrating to in trees within 100 yards of their breeding place.

Learn more about ID, range, behavior and voices.

Photo by Judy Gallagher

Coastal Plains Leopard Frog

Coastal Plains Leopard Frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus utricularius) are large frogs (2 in up to 5 in.). You can recognize them by their large green to brown spots. They gather in large groups to breed in fish-free bodies of fresh water from April to June. Adults forage away from water in areas with protective vegetation.

Learn more about ID, range, and their voices.

Photo by Jason Gibson

Upland Chorus Frogs  (Pseudacris feriarum) Although they are common in the Piedmont, you’ll rarely see these small, grey frogs outside of breeding season. You can hear their call that’s compared to the sound of  running your fingers over the teeth of a comb.

Learn more about ID, range and their voices.

Photo by John Willson

Eastern Spadefoot Toads (Scaphiopus holbrokii) like to bury themselves in sand or mud, coming out to feed after warm rains. They breed in ephemeral, fishless ponds and prefer areas with loose, sandy soils. Some people have allergic reactions to this toad’s skin, so be careful when handling.

Learn more about ID, range and their voices.

Photo by John Kleopfer

What Frogs and Toads Need How Can We Help
Food and Water: Tadpoles dine on algae and plant debris in the pond. Adults eat insects, mosquitoes, slugs and invertebrates, even fish.
  • Plant floating and marginal vegetation in your pond. Grasses, carexes, and forbs planted on the pond edges give the adults shelter and places to find food. In areas away from the pondwater, plant in layers, just as you would for birds and pollinators.
  • Even if you don’t have a pond, these vegetated areas will attract American Toads and other species that hunt for food away from water.
    • Breeding:All frog and toad species in our area begin life as eggs and tadpoles in shallow puddles, vernal pools, ponds or the edges of streams and lakes. Vernal pools are particularly important breeding habitat. Winter snowmelt and Spring rains fill shallow depressions in woodlands and meadows, providing prime, fish-free breeding places for amphibians. By the time the pools evaporate, usually the critters have moved to their other habitats. About 50 percent of frog and toad species in Northern Virginia either use or require vernal pools for breeding.
  • Protect natural wetlands and vernal pools by using rain barrels or rain gardens to prevent unfiltered water from running into streams or disrupting vernal pools. Some species return to their birth ponds to breed so it's important to support stream and wetland protection and restoration in your area.
  • Building a small backyard pond without fish provides a breeding place and nursery (as small as 3ft x 5ft will do ). A shallow end 3 to 6 inches deep allows them to enter and exit. A section 19 to 24 inches deep helps the species that overwinter in water. Floating plants and overhanging rocks and logs shelter them from predators.
  • Provide a brush shelter with logs, rocks and branches to give them a place to sleep, hide, hunt and bask in the sun. Be sure that at least a portion of your shelter receives full sun and add a few old pipes or boards to seal the deal.
    • Habitat: Amphibians need cover from predators, shelter from summer heat and winter cold and areas of shade and moisture to keep their skin from drying out. Some species spend their adult lives close to water. Others live in meadows, shrubs and trees up to 350 yards from their birthplace.
  • Plant around the edges of your pond and avoid mowing or weed whacking there.
  • Keep in mind that frogs and toads will come from breeding pools outside of your property to find suitable homes. Layered plantings of mostly Northern Virginia native plants-- groundcovers, flowers, shrubs and trees--provide homes and hunting grounds. Punctuate these areas with leaf litter, rocks, dead logs or small brush piles that amphibians will use to keep cool in the summer, and burrow beneath during the winter.
  • Use other good habitat practices—reduce lawn area, avoid pesticides in your garden, keep cats indoors.
  • If you have a swimming pool frogs can access, give them safe exit with a Frog Log or Critter Skimmer.

    • Additional Resources:

    Your Backyard Guide: Helping Amphibians and Reptiles  - Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation

    FrogWatch USA – An American Zoological Association citizen science program where you can learn about wetlands in your community by reporting on the calls of local frogs and toads. 

    Providing Water in your Habitat at Home - Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

    Native Plants - Local sources that sell a large variety of only Northern Virginia native plants are listed at the Plant NOVA Natives website. Local garden centers carry some native plants. 

    Ponds  – You can build anything from a small, simple pond to more complex ponds with circulating pumps and waterfalls. For DIYers local home improvement stores and garden centers carry liners and pond kits. A web search will show several local businesses that install ponds

    Wildlife Rescue Assistance: If you find an injured or ensnared frog or toad you can get help through the Wildlife Rescue League

    Examples of Model Frog and Toad Habitat:

    Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax County

    Bles Park in Loudoun County

    Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Fairfax County

    Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area in Prince William County

    Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington

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