Brookside is buzzing...

[OkieDiva]

... or maybe chirping, whistling and whirring explains it better. In our neighborhood near Zink Park, the sounds at night are so very loud. Noticed it last year too, starting up around this time. Around nightfall, the noise starts up - can hear it over the TV at times, and it's shockingly loud and from all directions when you walk outside. Keeps going until early morning hours... sometimes, we'll get 15-30 minutes of quiet, but then they kick back up. Thought at first it was frogs, but I haven't seen a frog in 13 years of life in Tulsa. Maybe crickets? Locusts? Any pro or amateur entomologists (or exterminators - things are keeping me awake at all hours!) out there with an explanation?

[TURobY]

Possibly cicadas? They are pretty loud, and I could describe their sound as a kind of buzzing. If I'm not mistaken, this is the time of year that they become more active.

[RecycleMichael]

Terrorist locusts?

[we vs us]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Terrorist locusts?

Electronic terrorist locusts.

[Townsend]

quote:Originally posted by we vs us

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Terrorist locusts?

Electronic terrorist locusts.

with freakin' laserbeams on their heads

[we vs us]

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

quote:Originally posted by we vs us

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Terrorist locusts?

Electronic terrorist locusts.

with freakin' laserbeams on their heads

Dude, we could totally annex Jenks, Bixby and most of Broken Arrow if we had electronic terrorist locusts with frickin' laserbeams in their heads! We could, like, dominate all of Green Country!

Dude, let's go to QT. I've got the munchies.

[Gaspar]

I will get some pictures for you all.  

I have a Koi pond in the back yard (81st and Harvard).  Every year at this time we have the little sticky brown and green tree frogs on our windows and rocks around the pond.  We usually have about a half a dozen at any given time.  They make a racket and chirp for about a month during mating.

This year for some reason we have hundreds of them.  I've had to go sleep in another bed room for the past couple of nights because 4 or 5 stick themselves to my bedroom windows and just rattle my teeth with the noise.

I don't know the complete story behind these, but someone told me they were actually brought to the Tulsa Zoo back in the 50s or something and escaped.  They are very very loud this year!

[RecycleMichael]

The zoo story is wrong, but the frog is new.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080112_1_A2_hNewf08411

It's not easy being seen

By ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer
1/12/2008

New frog species leaps into view in Oklahoma

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums named 2008 the "Year of the Frog." Perhaps they should rename it the "year of the new frog."
The Center for North American Herpetology, based in Lawrence, Kan., announced Thursday the discovery of a new species of frog that's native to eastern Oklahoma: the Cajun chorus frog.

The frog is little -- about an inch long -- but has a deafening chirp when joined by a chorus of others. Here's your guide to Oklahoma's newly discovered amphibian:

The discovery: While credited to the scientists Thursday, the initial discovery came in 2001. The four co-discoverers are Emily Moriarty Lemmon and her husband, Alan Lemmon, both of the University of California-Davis; Joseph Collins, director of the Center for North American Herpetology; and David Cannatella, curator of herpetology at the Texas Memorial Museum.

"There's a sense of accomplishment in just discovering a new frog," Collins said. "It's what we live for as biologists -- new discoveries -- especially in an area as well-studied as the United States." The Cajun Chorus: It was a dark night north of Baton Rouge following a heavy rain in 2001. The co-discoverers were on a frog hunt amid a loud Cajun country chorus by many, many frogs.

"The frogs were calling like crazy that night," Moriarty Lemmon recalls. "All of the sudden, this light came on in a house across the street. . . . Someone came stomping out saying, 'What're you all doing over here?'" The scientists explained that they were looking for frogs in the ditch, holding up a collection of the tiny chirpers. This confused the man, and Moriarty Lemmon said he responded:

"What you all doing that for? They're too small to eat!" Green frogs love Green Country: Cajun chorus frogs like areas with little water, where fish will not eat them. Shallow water in deep ditches is ideal. However, during breeding season in late winter and early spring, these frogs will go to ponds and chirp loudly together. Weather in the 50s and 60s at this time of year makes Oklahoma an ideal home for the frogs.

Chirping call: The one distinguishing factor for this frog species is its call, Moriarty Lemmon said. "Take a metal comb; run your finger along it," she said. The picking noise increases slowly in pitch and is long and drawn out, like a Southern drawl, Collins said. When combined with thousands of other Cajun chorus frogs, the noise is deafening.

Finding the frog: While the frogs are common in the south-central United States, they are tiny and hard to find without their distinctive chirp. The only good time to find the species is during breeding season. Ideal situations for frog hunting are at night after rainfall when temperatures are in the 50s and 60s.

Keeping your "canaries in the creek": To keep your insect-eating friends around, Moriarty Lemmon said it is important to limit the spread of pesticides, as it can get into nearby water sources. When trying to map out the frogs' habitats, the researchers noticed that areas around cotton fields and other agricultural areas had fewer frogs than other places, she said. Also, she agrees with the Louisiana man that it wouldn't be a good idea to have a frog feast with them, tiny size aside. "They probably taste bitter," she said.

[AngieB]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael


Chirping call: The one distinguishing factor for this frog species is its call, Moriarty Lemmon said. "Take a metal comb; run your finger along it," she said. The picking noise increases slowly in pitch and is long and drawn out, like a Southern drawl, Collins said. When combined with thousands of other Cajun chorus frogs, the noise is deafening.

That's what I've been hearing lately too! Never could find the little bugger though. We have a tiny pond and they're probably hanging out around there.

I love critters in the city. (Well except for that bat that was in our house, but that's another story...)

[Gaspar]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

The zoo story is wrong, but the frog is new.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080112_1_A2_hNewf08411

It's not easy being seen

By ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer
1/12/2008

New frog species leaps into view in Oklahoma

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums named 2008 the "Year of the Frog." Perhaps they should rename it the "year of the new frog."
The Center for North American Herpetology, based in Lawrence, Kan., announced Thursday the discovery of a new species of frog that's native to eastern Oklahoma: the Cajun chorus frog.

The frog is little -- about an inch long -- but has a deafening chirp when joined by a chorus of others. Here's your guide to Oklahoma's newly discovered amphibian:

The discovery: While credited to the scientists Thursday, the initial discovery came in 2001. The four co-discoverers are Emily Moriarty Lemmon and her husband, Alan Lemmon, both of the University of California-Davis; Joseph Collins, director of the Center for North American Herpetology; and David Cannatella, curator of herpetology at the Texas Memorial Museum.

"There's a sense of accomplishment in just discovering a new frog," Collins said. "It's what we live for as biologists -- new discoveries -- especially in an area as well-studied as the United States." The Cajun Chorus: It was a dark night north of Baton Rouge following a heavy rain in 2001. The co-discoverers were on a frog hunt amid a loud Cajun country chorus by many, many frogs.

"The frogs were calling like crazy that night," Moriarty Lemmon recalls. "All of the sudden, this light came on in a house across the street. . . . Someone came stomping out saying, 'What're you all doing over here?'" The scientists explained that they were looking for frogs in the ditch, holding up a collection of the tiny chirpers. This confused the man, and Moriarty Lemmon said he responded:

"What you all doing that for? They're too small to eat!" Green frogs love Green Country: Cajun chorus frogs like areas with little water, where fish will not eat them. Shallow water in deep ditches is ideal. However, during breeding season in late winter and early spring, these frogs will go to ponds and chirp loudly together. Weather in the 50s and 60s at this time of year makes Oklahoma an ideal home for the frogs.

Chirping call: The one distinguishing factor for this frog species is its call, Moriarty Lemmon said. "Take a metal comb; run your finger along it," she said. The picking noise increases slowly in pitch and is long and drawn out, like a Southern drawl, Collins said. When combined with thousands of other Cajun chorus frogs, the noise is deafening.

Finding the frog: While the frogs are common in the south-central United States, they are tiny and hard to find without their distinctive chirp. The only good time to find the species is during breeding season. Ideal situations for frog hunting are at night after rainfall when temperatures are in the 50s and 60s.

Keeping your "canaries in the creek": To keep your insect-eating friends around, Moriarty Lemmon said it is important to limit the spread of pesticides, as it can get into nearby water sources. When trying to map out the frogs' habitats, the researchers noticed that areas around cotton fields and other agricultural areas had fewer frogs than other places, she said. Also, she agrees with the Louisiana man that it wouldn't be a good idea to have a frog feast with them, tiny size aside. "They probably taste bitter," she said.

That's it!

[we vs us]

Er . . . . so it's not terrorist locusts?

[cannon_fodder]

Clearly the story is a government cover up because we already won the war on terrorism.  The ole' "the new species of tiny frogs that you can't see did it" routine.  Oldest trick in the book.

They hid the WMDs in Iraq too.  The bastards.

I've said too much.

[OkieDiva]

I think it must be frogs... neighbors have a beautiful koi pond, about 10 feet from our bedroom window. A beautiful koi pond that I would now like to fill with dishwashing crystals. Or mashed potato flakes.

Gaspar, would love to see your pictures so I can print and post on a dart board.

How about Africanized killer frogs... we could start a new media frenzy! Africanized killer frogs spotted in Oklahoma! They swarm and attack unprovoked! Seriously, what other big, scary, natural abomination do we have this year (remember, President Bush isn't "big")? We've been thru bird flu, shark attacks, the killer honeybees, West Nile virus - there is nothing for me this year. Nothing but Africanized killer frogs.

[RecycleMichael]

quote:Originally posted by OkieDiva

neighbors have Gaspar, would love to see your pictures so I can print and post on a dart board.

The TulsaWorld link has a nice picture.

[Red Arrow]

quote:Originally posted by we vs us

quote:Originally posted by Townsend

quote:Originally posted by we vs us

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Terrorist locusts?

Electronic terrorist locusts.

with freakin' laserbeams on their heads

Dude, we could totally annex Jenks, Bixby and most of Broken Arrow if we had electronic terrorist locusts with frickin' laserbeams in their heads! We could, like, dominate all of Green Country!

Dude, let's go to QT. I've got the munchies.

Better let Jenks, Bixby, and BA widen their streets first.