We had a roll of old carpet outside near the shed.  Its intended use is as weed matting beneath the raised garden beds that will be set up in the greenhouse.  Preparing for this, we unrolled the carpet to cut it to size, only to find a few frogs had made it their home.

I’ve consulted three or four field guides, including internet based ones, and initially it was very difficult to identify the species of frog.  However, through a process of elimination, I am pretty confident that we have some Southern Brown Tree Frogs here. Apparently they are pretty common, and they feed on insects.  There is certainly a good food supply for them out here!

Looking at the colour variations in the various field guides, ours seem a bit darker than most, but all of the markings appear the same, and there are no other frogs found in this area that vaguely match either the colour or the markings.

We released the frogs in our fernery, which is kept moist and has plenty of hiding spots – there is even the fish pond if they really feel like taking a dip.

True to their name, the Southern Brown Tree Frogs are found in Southern parts of Australia, including Southern Victoria, parts of South Australia, and Tasmania.