Participation
Health Check for Frogs in Bushfire Affected Areas
This year the Frog Census will focus on bushfire-affected areas, in addition to our normal survey area. Join in the effort with your friends and family and record the frog calls that you can hear. Return to sites you have recorded before, or places that were dry or fire affected over summer, giving us important data on our froggie friends. Sign up here
How to become involved in Melbourne Water's Frog Census
We now receive frog recordings at any time of year, and prefer digital recordings. Recording frog calls digitally reduces our resource use and environmental impact. Digital recordings can be made on digital cameras, MP3 players and mobile phones, meaning that most people have access to the equipment. Follow this link for more information on recording sounds digitally (PDF, 11kb).
Download the full participation and safety guide (PDF, 19kb).
When submitting recorded frog calls to Melbourne Water’s Frog Census you need to return a completed data sheet. Save these documents to your hard drive before opening and editing.
A step by step guide to recording frog calls
- Listen out for frogs in your local area or other areas of interest. Appropriate places include creeks, streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands and waterways, but frogs will also call away from water. Ideal times to hear frog call are at dusk on warm still nights before or after rain
- After we receive your recordings we sent them to our ecologists for identification
- We let you know the results
- The results are mapped on the Melbourne Water website and the National Frog Atlas and sent to DSE
- Results are used for management purposes
- You can request assistance with this process simply by emailing frogs@melbournewater.com.au
Submitting digitally recorded calls to Melbourne Water’s Frog Census
- Listen out for frogs in your local area or other areas of interest. Appropriate places include streams, rivers, ponds, wetlands and waterways, but frogs will also call away from water. Ideal times to hear frog call are at dusk on warm still nights before or after rain.
- Download the appropriate Frog Census datasheet
- Make your recordings using a digital sound recorder (mobile phone, MP3 recorder, digital camera).
- Note location and times and complete your Frog Census datasheet in hard copy or as a Word document
- Email the call recordings and data sheet to the frogs@melbournewater.com.au
Submitting tape recorded calls to Melbourne Water’s Frog Census
- Some people are still using tapes to record sounds, and blank tapes can be sent out upon request.
- When sending you a blank tape we include a return enveloped, data sheets and address sticker
- Listen out for frogs in your local area or other areas of interest.
- Make your recordings.
- Note location and times and complete your Frog Census datasheet in hard copy
- Pack your CD or tape with some padding to avoid breakage.
- Send your recording with the completed datasheet back to the below REPLY PAID address (this does not require a stamp).
- Frog Census
Melbourne Water
Reply Paid 4342
Melbourne VIC 8060
For advice at any stage email frogs@melbournewater.com.au. To receive email updates and frog information register yourself or your group as a Frog Census participant.
For more information call Melbourne Water on 131 722 or give us feedback.