You're sure to have a mate just like it.
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The bloke you hear long before you lay eyes on him. His voice travels far and wide, he's always out late and won't give up trying to get the girls.
You don't like to mention it but sometimes it seems pretty pointless from where you're standing.
In the animal world, that bloke is the eastern dwarf tree frog. You will hear their raspy drawn-out call from the garden, long grass, or the pond edge. These little dudes only grow to a maximum of three centimetres but what they lack in size, they make up for in numbers.
They occur down most of eastern Australia and once you find one, you often realise that they have you surrounded. Surrender your arms, they will kill you with cuteness.
Despite worldwide frog declines, eastern dwarf frogs are not threatened with extinction. They have even managed to extend their range beyond Australia and invade the island of Guam, where they are joined by Australia's brown tree snakes, another invader that terrorizes local residents and causes regular power outages.
Eastern dwarf frogs can claim no such terror. They are generalist in diet and feed on small insects like flies and bugs that get too close.
That doesn't mean they are not bad ass, males will fight with each other when there are females around. Kicking each other with their webbed feet and jumping on top each other. Vying for the light-weight championship of the pond.
Frog species such as dwarf tree frogs help to maintain functioning ecosystems like farm dams and wetlands to keep them healthy. Not only do they eat pests and algae (as tadpoles) but they provide a food source to other species like birds and bats.
If you want to encourage them in your garden pond or dam, provide emergent vegetation like reeds or sedges, near or in the water. The reeds will help to hold the soil together as well as providing habitat and helping to keep the water clean.
If you aren't sure which frogs you have around your local area, take a head torch out on a warm night after some rain and follow the chorus. Frog eyes light up green with a small dull eye shine, less sparkly than spiders, like planets rather than stars.
The Australian Museum's frog app can help you to identify the calls and Simon Clulow's Frogs of Australia book is an essential field aid for novices and experts alike.