Frog Watching

We have been waiting impatiently for the arrival of the frogs and toads. So worried that they would not return to our wildlife pond this year. We checked every day. It seemed like everyone else had them but us. We kept our fingers crossed but were increasingly pessimistic. In two previous years there had been masses of spawn by the 9th or 10th of February, 25th at the latest. In the event, we saw them first by moonlight when trying out our new moth trap on the 22nd February. There they were sitting on a large patch of starwort croaking away. What a huge relief.

Using head torches with multiple light settings, we ventured out on several subsequent evenings, mainly to see Garry doing his astrophotography, but spent most of the time looking to see how all the pond creatures were doing. We have ended up with far fewer breeding amphibians than last year and definitely less spawn. Toads seem to outnumber frogs by a long way. Smooth newts were commonly around, along with many large diving beetles and water boatmen. None of the creatures seemed to mind the white lights but the frogs and toads would only start their croaking chorus when we used red light.

Will the frogs, toads, and spawn survive? Following some beautiful clear and sunny days the temperatures have dropped dramatically at night, covering everything with frost and forming ice on shallow puddles. How will that affect them all? On top of that potential misfortune, there is always the possibility of interference by two-legged visitors who think it is alright to remove the spawn. We can only hope for the best while enjoying the sight and sound of our more than welcome croaking visitors.