ED Nature Watch

[Sue]

My frog has woken up and laid a load of frogspawn!

How can I stop it being eaten this year?

I can't net the tub because the frog won't be able to get in and out

The spawn is right at the top. Should I move it to the bottom somehow?

[lousmith]

Well there must be at least two frogs there no? If not it won't hatch. It shouldn't get eaten as its only really ducks who eat it wholesale and they won't come to a sink. Leave them on top so the sun warms them and speeds the changes. Its been a funny year. Most of my first crop of spawn has sunk without trace or was frozen solid. There is a new batch however which I'm hoping will flourish.

[Sue]

Last year the spawn all disappeared when I was away one weekend and I've never seen a duck round here!

Have only seen one frog and the tub is quite small and the water clear so don't know where another one could be hiding!

Do you mean unless there are two frogs it won't have been fertilised? It has black specks in the middle which Iassumed were mini tadpoles!

[lousmith]

It definitely takes two to tango! if there is only one frog it is likely that the female jettisond the spawn unfertilised which will not hatch and will slowly break up and disappear. This may be what happened last year. If it sinks to the bottom first you may not witness this. The detritivores at the bottom of the pond would make short work of it.

[Sue]

Last years spawn was from your froggies :)

I shall be gutted if this lot doesn't hatch, I was so excited!

[swatthatmoth]

Hi Sue, lou et al

Don't suppose you know of any spawn going spare do you?

We have a small pond and 1 resident frog. Not had any spawn this year though. Thought I'd keep some in a shady bucket abd some in the pond. We too had a clump disappear overnight last year. We thought that it may be the frog had eaten it as it was from another pond - maybe they don't like competition!?

Hope you can help - often people are desperate to get rid of it - but haven't found any this year!

(I too have had a couple of early house moths - very sad - I've been so 'on it' over the last couple of years!! May just buy a chest freezer and rotate the contents of my drawers and wardrobes!!!)

Cath

[yeknomyeknom]

Spotted 9 frogs in our garden this evening. 4 yesterday. Two of which got into the house and hid behind the dishwasher until the dog alerted us. They all have little baby frogs on their backs. Pretty cute. See pic attached.

[lousmith]

What you have there is a large lady toad with a small gentleman toad in enthusiastic attendance. Its their turn to spawn now. Do they have access to a decent pond?

[yeknomyeknom]

No way?! Is that true? We have loads of them! Our garden is like the playboy mansion. No we don't have a pond, nor do any of our neighbours as far as I can see. They come every year, loads of them. No idea why they like our place. Our ninety year old neighbour says it has always been that way.

[lousmith]

They seem to have marked preferences for where they live. These days I seldom see them in my garden, two or three a year or so, whereas I see hundreds of frogs. Marsden Road wildlife centre on the other hand is almost entirely toads. They will travel quite far to find water if possible. A lot of the drive for house extensions has probably cost toads their breeding grounds and may prevent them reaching them. People are scared when they have kids to keep a pond. understandable, but a shame. Each of my kids have been into the pond once. They learn. Toads can live to 40 years old, so your neighbour may know at least her personally.

[yeknomyeknom]

You seem to know lots lousmith. Should I just leave them to their own devices? Or if they are at potential risk, should I move them to a safer area of the garden? I believe handling them can burn their skin so you should always wet your hands first?

[lousmith]

I do like to watch out for amphibious friends, been a lifelong fascination. Its fine to handle them with clean hands. they are a little prone to squirting stuff onto your hands though which though harmless, can make the squeamish shreik and drop! They'll be fine if left to their own devices. You could always build a pond to assist their kind.

[yeknomyeknom]

Great thanks, we love them. Although you do get a startle the first time you spot them.

[Sue]

yeknomyeknom Wrote:

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We have loads of them!

> Our garden is like the playboy mansion.

xxxxxxxx

:)) :)) :))

Lucky you to have so many!

I have discovered another frog in my tub, so there must have been a bit of hanky panky going on after all :)

It seems to have been lurking behind the pile of bricks, but occasionally comes up to the surface and pokes its head out.

This one is quite lively, whereas the original one is still lying pale and still at the bottom. But occasionally shifts position so I think is hibernating rather than dead .... fingers crossed. It doesn't appear to be decomposing, anyway!

Was doing some research today and found out quite a bit about frogs and frogspawn - here's an interesting link about why the spawn may disappear :(

http://www.arc-trust.org/advice/FAQs/spawn_and_tadpoles/disappeared.php

On another note, I saw quite a few bees yesterday!

[civilservant]

staggering home from the Great Exhibition tonight, what do I spot on the pavement but a toad! a big one too

That's no place for a toad I thought, so I took it home and sneakily introduced it into next door's garden in the hope that it'll find a cool and shady home near their pond. But I hope it leaves the bumblebees alone!

[Toldyouso]

The local foxes seem to visit my pond for an evening snack of frog - very brazen and they rarely eat the whole thing - strangely the legs do not appear to be to their taste!

[Sue]

Toldyouso Wrote:

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> The local foxes seem to visit my pond for an

> evening snack of frog - very brazen and they

> rarely eat the whole thing - strangely the legs do

> not appear to be to their taste!

xxxxxxx

:(

[likansuk269]

I SAW SOMETHING ON MY NOW BUDDING ACER TREE EARLIER IN THE WEEK,I THOUGHT IT WAS DEAD SO I PUSHED IT OFF AND IT MOVED VERY SLOWLY GIVING THE IMPRESSION IT WAS NEARLY DEAD....I WAS WRONG...I GOT A SMALL PLASTIC CONTAINER TO PUT IT IN TO SHOW MY 9 YR OLD DAUGHTER AS I HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT IN MY LIFE......AFTER A WHILE IT STARTED MOVING MORE AND MORE THIS WAS GREAT TO WATCH AS ITS WINGS VIBRATED FASTER AND FASTER LIKE A HUMMINGBIRD.......THIS CREATURE LOOKED LIKE A TYPE OF BEE ,BUT ONLY HAD 1 WING EITHER SIDE OF ITS ABDOMEN..IT WAS FURRY AND BEE COLOURED,BUT IT HAD THIS LONG BIT STICKING OUT FROM ITS FRONT ,LIKE A HUMMINGBIRDS BEAK TO GET TO THE POLLEN,NOW IM THINKING ITS A TYPE OF HUMMINGBIRD BEE...WRONG...AFTER DOING A BIT OF RESEARCH I FOUND OUT IT WAS A DARK EDGED BEE FLY...CALLED DARK EDGED BECAUSE OF THE BLACK PATTERN ON THE FRONT OF THE WINGS....AFTER A FEW PHOTOS ON MY PHONE I RELEASED IT AND TO MY AMAZEMENT IT FLEW OFF QUICKER THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN ANYTHING MOVE IN MY LIFE.......I EXPECT I WILL SEE THEM MORE OFTEN NOW IVE SEEN 1....I HAVE A KOI POND IN MY GARDEN AND OFTEN SEE ODD CREATURES AROUND IT.....I JUST WISH THE TOADS WOULD STAY OUT..THE FROGS I DONT MIND BUT THE TOADS MOUNT HE FISH WITH SEXUAL INTENTIONS AND CAN KILL FISH BECAUSE THE TOADS GRIP THE FISH BY THE GILLS TO STAY ON

[lorraineliyanage]

My friend Penny loves all sorts if insects and spotted this the other day. Sounds like the same thing. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151624752154257&set=a.10150659492884257.449353.530914256&type=1&theater

[Jenny1]

I've just spotted one of these bee-flies in my garden too. I thought for a while that it was weird, woolly little hummingbird.

[Sue]

That's amazing.

I've seen a hummingbird moth, once, in Venice (placedropping), but never even heard of this thing.

[Sue]

http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/pond/frogspawn.htm

Some of my frogspawn has hatched into extremely tiny tadpoles. However there are things in the water which look like some kind of large water-living woodlice (yuk) and I have a horrible feeling they are eating the taddies :(

Some of the frogspawn developed white dots and apparently this means they are dead? It dropped below the surface a day or so after the hatching anyway, so I can't see what is happening in/to it any more or even if it's still there.

Don't know what to do about the frog which I thought was hibernating. It was certainly hibernating at the point when I inadvertently hauled it out of the water with dead leaves, because it jumped back into the tub, but I would have thought it would have woken up by now? I did prod it gently with a garden cane, but didn't see it move at all.

It is face down at the bottom of the tub (ie not belly-up) and doesn't appear to be decomposing. Not sure what to do. If it is dead I don't want to leave it there but I also don't want to disturb it again if it's still hibernating.

Any frog experts got any suggestions?

The other froggie has left the tub :))

Seen some small blue butterflies. Lovely to see everything blossoming and/or flying!

[the-e-dealer]

Anyone know if there are any Local Bat Walks in the Near Future?

[lousmith]

Hi Sue. The "woodlice" will be intent on clearing up anything that's no longer required, but won't harm the Taddies. I discovered last year that the white areas on healthy frogspawn will always end up facing down after being disturbed. Takes about 15 mins. If it is not doing this it is dead. Likewise the frog. It may be that it sees you coming and dives to the bottom. Check it to see if its alive and definitely hook it out if it is not. Similarly the spawn will start to break up if it is not viable and should be dragged out and discarded as it could cause serious oxygen depletion if it sinks and decomposes. Great news about the tadpoles though. Hope some of them make it. Frogs should definitely be post hibernation now though. Even lazy ones. They won't have eaten since last Autumn, so no time to loaf!

[Sue]

lousmith Wrote:

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> Likewise the frog. It may be that it sees you

> coming and dives to the bottom. Check it to see if

> its alive and definitely hook it out if it is not.

xxxxxx

Thanks Lousmith.

Oh dear, I think I'd better go and do it now then. Not looking forward to it :(