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The Full Story

The Frogs Are Calling You

Frogs are some of the most endangered animals in the world. They are also some of the most amazing – spending their juvenile years as tadpoles before absorbing their tails and becoming land animals! They breathe through their skin as well as their lungs, can climb trees, swim, jump and even regrow their toes should they lose them!

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Victoria’s wetlands are home to some 40 frog species – from the tiny Common Froglet (pictured above) to the massive Giant Burrowing Frog. But Victoria’s wetlands are also in trouble. A drying climate and long-term drought has caused many wetlands to shrink or dry out altogether. But help is at hand! Just as agriculture and industry receive water entitlements, so too does nature – known as ‘environmental water’ or ‘water for the environment’. This means that some wetlands are regularly topped up to help keep the wildlife that lives there healthy and happy.

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Because water is so scarce we need to make sure that we are providing the right amount of water in the right places and at the right time. This is where you come in! We need help to find out where frogs live and when they breed in northern Victoria.

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To join the project, all you need to do is sign up, download the FrogID app for Apple or Android and away you go! Our detailed instructions pages will give you all the information you need, so get out there, the frogs are calling you!

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The Frogs Are Calling You citizen science project is a collaboration between the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP); Frogs Victoria; Australian Museum; University of Melbourne; Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA); and North Central CMA. Find out more on our Collaborators page.

How to collect data

1. Download the FrogID app for Apple or Android.

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2. Read the health and safety guidelines below

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3. Visit a site and make a recording in the app. Just after dark is the best time to hear frogs, but any time of the day or night is good to make a recording. Any wetland will do – even if it’s dry. It doesn’t matter if you can hear frogs calling or not – it’s important for us to know when the frogs are not active too. For ideas on places to record, see our sites page.

 

PLEASE CLEAN YOUR BOOTS THOROUGHLY BETWEEN SITES TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF DISEASES - ONE OF THE BIGGEST THREATS TO FROGS. 

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4. Follow the instructions on the FrogID app to make a recording with your mobile phone. You can join "The Frogs Are Calling You" group in the FrogID app. 

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5. ​Go back as often as you can and to as many sites as you can, to make more recordings. If you only go once, your data will still help, but the more information we have, the better. You don’t have to be in the exact same spot each time and you don’t have to go at the exact time.

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6. Fancy a bit more data collection? You can take habitat measurements at your site.

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7. Need help? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you still need help, send us a message or email Lynette (project leader) at lynette@frogsvic.org

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8. We’ll keep you updated on how the project’s going and what we discover.

Health and Safety in the field

Take care when you're out collecting data! Be aware of any hazards around you and do your best to avoid or mitigate them. 

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Some things to bear in mind:

  • Dress appropriately - the weather could turn at any minute and it's likely tough going underfoot.

  • Take a torch.  

  • Slip, slop, slap - even if it's cloudy!

  • Stay out of the water.

  • Avoid snakes and wear strong footwear, long pants and gaiters.

  • Avoid areas where hunters may be active.

  • Let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back.

  • Take a mobile phone (fully charged!), consider taking a CB/UHF radio or satellite phone.

  • Make sure your vehicle is in good condition (including the spare wheel).

  • Consider taking a first aid kit and safety beacon.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

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The Frogs Are Calling You is a citizen science component of DELWP's Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WetMAP). 

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Frogs Victoria

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A state-wide frog research, conservation and education group, Frogs Vic is coordinating The Frogs Are Calling You project. 

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Australian Museum 

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Data for The Frogs Are Calling You are collected in the Australian Museum's FrogID app. 

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University of Melbourne 

 

The University of Melbourne's Dr. Matt West is an expert in amphibian acoustic analysis. 

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Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority

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The Goulbourn Broken CMA works with communities and government agencies to manage activities to protect and improve the catchment’s land, water and biodiversity of the Goulburn and Broken rivers and part of the Murray River valley.

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North Central Catchment Management Authority

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The North Central CMA works to protect and improve the health of the natural resources​ of the Campaspe, Loddon, Avoca and Avon-Richardson rivers, which form part of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Take care when you're out collecting data! Be aware of any hazards around you and do your best to avoid or mitigate them. 

​

Some things to bear in mind:

  • Dress appropriately - the weather could turn at any minute and it's likely tough going underfoot.

  • Take a torch.  

  • Slip, slop, slap - even if it's cloudy!

  • Stay out of the water.

  • Avoid snakes and wear strong footwear, long pants and gaiters.

  • Avoid areas where hunters may be active.

  • Let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back.

  • Take a mobile phone (fully charged!), consider taking a CB/UHF radio or satellite phone.

  • Make sure your vehicle is in good condition (including the spare wheel).

  • Consider taking a first aid kit and safety beacon.

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