The wind chime continued to make strange noises, even when there was no wind? She looked inside the wind chime tube and found...

In July this year, Zoe, who lives in Florida, USA, said that the wind chimes in her home made some sounds that were not originally belonged to wind chimes.

Originally, the wind chime would make some beautiful tinkling melodies as the breeze blew. However, in recent months, the wind chime has become more and more abnormal. Sometimes, even when there is no wind, it starts to make strange noises.

A few weeks ago, the strange noises became more frequent, with the sound of frogs echoing in the house. It was indeed "echoing", because Zoe said that the croaking of frogs seemed to have "its own reverberation" , echoing in the room, and it seemed to have an echo, one after another.

Zoe found the source of the sound, which was the wind chime. She looked carefully into the hollow tube and the mystery was solved: a group of new residents in the wind chime also poked their heads out and looked at her curiously.

Lovely new residents!

Zoe discovered that there was a frog living in each tube of the wind chime. "It was like a secret society settling in a hidden residence. It was so cute!" Zoe decided to allow these frogs to live in the wind chimes in her house, and sometimes she could hear them singing in the tubes of the wind chimes.

In fact, in 2019, exactly the same thing happened to Smith's home. Smith did not hear frogs, but felt that the sound of his wind chimes seemed to become more and more dull, not as nice as before. Similarly, he found that tree frogs lived in his wind chimes. These tree frogs were very smart and found their own shelter in time before the storm came .

However, Smith thought that simply letting these tree frogs settle in the wind chimes was not a solution, so he set up a sheltered area in his backyard. On the one hand, this would make the frogs more comfortable, and on the other hand, perhaps more tree frogs could be allowed to avoid hurricanes.

Wind Chime "Refuge" at the Smith Family

So, the "Frog Hotel" opened .

The concept of "frog hotel" is not new. When you search for "frog hotel", you will find that people in many parts of the world are setting up a temporary home for frogs. Jody Rowley, a herpetologist at the Australian Museum, is one of the supporters. She mentioned that frogs need to be protected because they are actually a kind of "canary in the coal mine" .

In the past, coal miners would bring canaries with them when they went down the mines, because canaries are very sensitive to dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide. If they gave warnings, the miners would know that the air here is toxic and they should leave the tunnel as soon as possible. Similarly, frogs are the "canaries" that detect pollution in the ecological environment.

The canary "siren" at the time was placed in this box. | wiki

Because frogs and other amphibians have permeable skin and lay shellless eggs, they are often the first animals to be affected when there are environmental problems such as pesticides, pollutants, or habitat destruction .

Many scientists have focused on deformities and declines in the wild of frogs and toads as early warning signs of environmental damage, and today frog populations are declining rapidly due to environmental changes .

While investigating the cause of frog death and studying the risks faced by amphibians, Rowley suggested that even ordinary people can take some actions to build "hotels" where frogs can live safely.

Just like frogs stay in wind chimes, you can use PVC pipes to build some damp, dark and clean homes for frogs. However, PVC pipe hotels can only allow tree frogs to enter. Therefore, you can also use old bathtubs, buckets, or plants and stones beside existing ponds to build some "shelters" for them. The key is to have water and avoid direct sunlight.

This way, you can build a very nice frog hotel. Image source: Reference [4]

Of course, many websites have also launched advanced versions, more luxurious frog "hotels". For example, you can put a not-so-bright solar lamp next to the pond, and when the light is on at night, it can attract insects and frogs to eat.

You can also place some plants on the water surface or on the water, as well as sticks, slopes, patios, etc., to enrich their environment and make it easier for them to escape when they encounter danger.

Someone built a luxurious hotel for the frogs and even gave them a large pond. Image source: Reference [1]

Rowley herself built some small frog ponds, and to her surprise, they quickly attracted frogs to settle in. She didn't know how the frogs knew. She said it was a simple way to reconnect with wildlife.

However, one website kindly reminds you that frogs can be very noisy during the rainy or breeding season, so you should build your pond away from your windows!

References

[1] https://www.lfwseq.org.au/creating-frog-friendly-habitats/

[2] https://savethefrogs.com/creating-backyard-wildlife-habitat/

[3] https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/nature-on-your-doorstep/garden-activities/make-a-house-for-frogs-and-toads/

[4] https://www.redland.qld.gov.au/info/20287/wildlife-friendly_backyard/1121/how_to_make_a_frog_hotel

[5]https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/14/frog-hotels-scientists-build-creative-urban-shelters-to-draw-species-back-to-australian-cities, [6] https://www.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/downloads/file/1708/how-to-make-a-frog-hotel

[7] https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/ways-to-help-frogs-and-toads.html[8] https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-causes-deformities-frogs-toads-and-other-amphibians

Planning and production

Source: Bringing Science Home

Author: Everything Magazine

Editor: Cui Yinghao