Photo by Mary Holland.
During the summer months, after breeding in a body of water, northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) are often found in wet, grassy meadows. Come fall, they typically migrate toward the shoreline of a pond, traveling up to 2 miles to do so. Northern leopard frogs cannot tolerate freezing temperatures, so as it begins cooling off in October and November, these irregularly spotted amphibians enter the water and spend the winter months hibernating on the bottom of ponds. They are sometimes covered with a thin layer of silt, sometimes not. Usually they clear the area on either side of themselves to facilitate respiration. Movement, if there is any, is very slow.