Frog of the month has mighty call – for its size

The Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog (Dryomantis fallax) is October's frog of the month.

This tree frog occurs all along eastern Australia and is very common within its range. They can typically be found around ponds or swamps that contain substantial numbers of reeds or sedgy vegetation.

They are small, growing up to 2.5cm, but loud for their size, producing a sharp “screeeech-pip-pip”.

Being so small they can be tricky to spot, but if you are patient and look for long enough, you can spot them around many of the natural and urban ponds of the Illawarra.

I photographed this male basking during the day on a Lomandra bush next to the duck pond at the University of Wollongong. In spring I have spotted up to 20 in this one bush!