Page 2 of 2

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 5:51 pm
by PLUMPUDDING
All the frogs back today, the pond looks like simmering soup from the house but they all hide when I go to look.

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 5:55 pm
by Primrose
I think the sudden rise in temperature has brought them all back. My first newt is out of hibernation, no doubt ready to start gobbling up all the tiny weeny tadpoles as soon as they hatch. Local heron seems to be on full time lookout duty now. Plum, I suspect your frogs probably know that anything hovering over the water is bad news for them and make a dive for it.

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 6:10 pm
by PLUMPUDDING
Yes Primrose we've had a very hungry looking heron doing a fly past for a few days but it hasn't landed, at least not when I've been looking .

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:06 pm
by Monika
About 20 frogs in the pond but no spawn yet, not a bad thing, considering that there might be snow again here by next weekend!
I heard the first chaffinch singing today, the mistle thrush has been at it for some days already. And the house sparrows are carrying nesting materials.

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 3:22 pm
by PLUMPUDDING
Well the male frogs have been patiently waiting and doing their frog chorus for the past two weeks. Yesterday the females turned up and a frog orgy is in full swing today with bucketfuls of spawn half filling the pond. I've counted over 70 frogs. The neighbour's cat has just spent half an hour trying to get at them but gave up when it got its feet wet and went to attack a clump of grass instead. Very entertaining.

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:09 pm
by Monika
Our frogs have spawned and there are masses of it this year. No doubt most will be eaten by newts, but as long there are enough tadpoles left to give a repeat performance next year! The top layer will probably frozen off .....

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 12:47 pm
by oldherbaceous
Still no sign of Frogs or spawn here.....

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2018 1:52 pm
by Primrose
Wel I doubt there will be much garden activity going on if the weather is like it is here - rain streaming relentlessly down the window panes. Reminds me of countless similar bank holidays in my childhood when we didn,t even have a tv in those days to relieve the boredom. I suspect countless garden centres around the country will be having a rather profitless weekend with few people tempted to venture out and buy plants which will then be wrecked by the weather.

Ironic that the drought affected countries like South Africa are currently looking at our weather and envying every raindrop which falls!

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 7:10 pm
by penn69
We have frogspawn in the pond but the frogs have gone now probably because it is freezing cold and half the garden is underwater.

Re: First frog of the year

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 9:24 am
by PLUMPUDDING
After a four day frenzy the pond is still again today. Surprisingly the frog activity has flushed out the goldfish. I didn't see it once last year and thought the heron must have eaten it but it is cruising round the edge of all the frogspawn anticipating a tasty meal when it hatches.
I'm now thinking I might have to get a few more fish to keep it company but the last time I tried to re stock lots of leeches appeared and killed them off in a few weeks. Or maybe goldfish don't need company, it seems quite resilient on its own.