FIRST FROGS

[PLUMPUDDING]

The warm sunshine today 23rd February has brought all the frogs out of hibernation and the pond is heaving. The fish are sulking at the deep end and don't seem to like all the activity. I'm sure they'll change their minds when the tadpoles hatch out!

[oldherbaceous]

I've checked all the ponds round this way, and not a frog to be seen, but i'm sure they will be arriving anytime now.

[peter]

There's a nice hig one in my greenhouse.

[Diane]

I've seen two, being amorous in the pond....and heard loads more shouting in the undergrowth.

We always have many many frogs in the pond each year...but never a sign of frogspawn? We only have a few goldfish....so surely they can't be eating it all?

[Colin_M]

Yes, we had a fair sized one one bouncing around our drive on Tuesday.

[Monika]

Frog numbers in our garden pond now up to 24 or 25 (can't count them exactly because many of them are engaged rather vigorous amorous embraces). In our local Nature Reserve pond, however, which lies in a frost pocket, there are no frogs to be seen as yet.

It's been real frog weather here the last few days - mild and wet.

[Geoff]

I hadn't spotted this thread, put this in General Chatter yesterday:
"The pond was "boiling" with frogs today but no spawn as yet."

Very busy this morning but still no spawn.

[Primrose]

Oh gosh - that is so unfair that some of you have already got frogs! I haven't seen a single one in our mini pond yet and have already protected it so that heron can't come and gobble most of them up as he did last year. He's doing regular circuits round here of all the gardens with ponds so hopefully will see them any time now.

[FelixLeiter]

We always have many many frogs in the pond each year...but never a sign of frogspawn? We only have a few goldfish....so surely they can't be eating it all?

Yes, they probably are. Not all at once, but as the tadpoles emerge they get gobbled up. It's hard to have wildlife and goldfish, except for in a very large pond.

[Monika]

Newts also take the tiny tadpoles as they emerge from the spawn. We don't have any fish in our Nature Reserve pond but plenty of newts (smooth and crested) which circle the spawn like sharks when the the time comes for hatching!

We also lose frogspawn to the mallards every year. Such is nature.

[Colin Miles]

Our Frogs started on Valentines day and they were a heaving mass until a few days ago - now masses of spawn. Interestingly, no activity in the nearby National Botanic Garden of Wales, or from other neighbours.

[PLUMPUDDING]

First frog spawn appeared today - six nice clumps swelling so far and lots of activity now the sun has touched the pond. It looks quite good this year. Last year there were lots of male frogs but it took ages for the females to arrive. We still had plenty of tadpoles and frogs in the end, infact so many that the fishes left them alone after their first feeding frenzy.

The pond has a shallow end where the spawn is laid, so as long as the tadpoles stay there they don't get eaten.

[pongeroon]

We have a square raised pond which we inherited with the house, along with several big koi and various other fish. Unfortunately the pond has developed a leak so we have decided to give the fish to our willing neighbour and demolish it as we are limited for space and can put it to better use.

I would like to take the opportunity to have a small (I mean small!) pond with no fish, and so encourage a bit of wildlife. Any ideas on minimum size, shape, depth etc?

[PLUMPUDDING]

Hi Pongeroon, So long as it is 18" to 2 ft deep in part so it doesn't freeze solid, and slopes out gradually in another you can have any shape you like. A pear drop shape with a deep end sloping up to a shallow end looks nice, or a saucer shape with shallow all the way round will allow more marginal plants. I think it is really the depth you need to think about if it is a very small pond so there is room for a layer of mud to form in the bottom for things to hibernate and feed in.

I'm afraid mine is huge due to my son doing me a favour and digging it out while he had hired a mini digger to do the foundations of his garage. I was away at the time and instead of the smallish pond I had asked for it looked more like a bomb crater with a mountain of clay and boulders at the side!!! - but it is lovely now.

[Monika]

Pongeroon, glad to hear you want a small pond and you won't regret it. We are responsible for a largish Nature Reserve pond (approx 45' x 35' and 3'6" deep) which attracts lots of wildlife, including several species of dragonfly and damselfly, but our own small garden pond (approx 6' x 3' and 2'6" deep, roughly kidney shaped) really gives us such a lot of pleasure. If at all possible, have the pond near the house so that you can see what's going on from the window - the last week ours has been "boiling" with frogs, now there is a lot of frog spawn. We watch the birds bathing, blackbirds fishing for tadpoles at the shallow end, newts coming up to the surface, particularly on warm summer evenings ... there is always something to see.

By the way, it took me just about half a day to dig out the small pond, another half day to line and landscape it. When you fill it (with tap water), let it settle for a few days first before introducing any plants. Then try to get a bucketful of water and sludge from another lively wildlife pond to introduce waterfleas and other small creatures. The larger wildlife, like frogs and newts (toads usually favour a deeper pond), will arrive in their own time unless you can cadge some frog spawn from somewhere. Good luck!