βρεκεκεκέξ ~The Frogs Are Back

 

I am absolutely delighted to find that we have a resident frog in both our mini-ponds. Last summer we had one 'regular' with very occasional sightings of a second, so it is exciting to start my 2024 frog observations with two. 

 

Shame about the leaf!

 And this is the second frog in the second mini-pond:

 

For βρεκεκεκέξ see here.

Frog!

 

We have two mini-ponds in our garden at present, situated in partial shade under some large ivy leaves. Some weeks ago we stocked these tiny watering holes with oxygenating plants and pondweed in the hope that a frog might take up residence.

I walked over to the pond this morning, and I am still not sure who was more surprised to see who, for there in the middle (at that point) were two magnificent amphibian eyes looking up at me. 

The frog was still there eight hours later, so I am hoping there may be more sightings tomorrow.

 

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Previous post: click here to take a look at my review of Susan Richardson's magnificent wildlife book, Where the Seals Sing. 

 

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, 2020

As you can see, we took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this morning. Do see if you can take part and do a count, too: Monday 27 January is the last day for this.

We spotted ten species of birds in one hour in our suburban Suffolk garden (showing the maximum number of any one species seen at a time)...

1. Wood pigeon: 4
2. Blue tit: 6
3. Great tit: 1
4. Robin: 1
5. Starling: 2
6. Magpies: 2
7. Jay: 1
8. Blackbird: 2
9. Blackcap: 1
10. Dunnock: 1

Sadly some of the 'usual suspects' failed to show up, notably the colony of Long-tailed tits and threcharm of Goldfinches. These were both included in my 2019 count.


Saturday 25 January 2020 at 12.50...

Our 'other garden wildlife' included Common Frog (sightings up significantly since we added a tiny pond to the garden), Grey Squirrel and Hedgehog. 

If you have taken part, I wonder what you saw. This was my count for 2019...

Looking for Frogspawn at Felixstowe

We took a short trip to the Landguard end of Felixstowe on Saturday afternoon to see if we could find any frogspawn. This area is monitored closely for wildlife by the Landguard Bird Observatory.

The weather was very grey, but mild. There were one or two rabbits in the scrub that fronts the container park for the port.



The photo above shows the backdrop. If you turn round, you can almost see the sea.

It only takes a few minutes to reach the pond. It seemed smaller than we remembered.

There was a lot of weed so it was difficult to distinguish one form of life from another.

I darkened my photo once I was home to see if a bit more contrast revealed anything further. What can you see?

The photo above shows the pond... and the one below shows two insects. I thought they might be a kind of water beetle but on enlarging the photo a bit, it is clear that they are a species of fly.

We may return in a few weeks. The photo below shows a scene from the same pond, taken on 10 March 2014...

If you come across clumps of frog spawn, do consider recording them here on the 2019 PondNet Survey.

Holiday 2: Amphibian Encounters around the Solway (north and south of the Scottish border)

Seen at NT Sutton Hoo last weekend

I know a good place for tadpoles here in Suffolk, but we do not often see frogs or toads in our local patch. Last weekend was an exception when we saw this little fellow, in the two photos above, poking out of what I presume was a drinking bowl for sheep at NT Sutton Hoo. The warty skin suggests a toad to me, but I may check by posting a photo on iSpot, particularly since the upper abdomen (probably the chest cavity) seems swollen.

On our recent holiday to the Solway estuary, we saw more toadlets and froglets in one hour than I have ever seen in my life (though we saw good numbers of toads crossing the road last year near Kilmartin).

This time the creatures were so tiny that we had to be incredibly careful not to step on them. It was a moving and fascinating experience, and one that poet Neil Rollinson wrote about during his residency with the Wordsworth Trust. The sad part (and having watched BBC Springwatch and Unsprung 2016, I use the 'sad' word with some trepidation!) is that far from all will reach maturity. I hope, however, that a good number will survive to boost the population in the lovely Eskrigg Nature Reserve near Lockerbie.

You can see in the three photos that follow that most were comparable to a short pine needle (or perhaps a 20p piece or needle from a yew tree) in body length.

Taken at Eskrigg

Taken at Eskrigg

Taken at Eskrigg

The next couple of photos show something of the landscape in the reserve - the pine forest with its moss and hummocky mounds ...

 ... and the watery areas.

The only adult frog (a Common Frog, I believe) that we saw during our first week away, while we were south of the Solway, was this one below, who was strolling across a rough track at night in the vicinity of the River Cocker. David got out of the car to take the photograph for me. The light lateral fold is clearly visible, and the striped barring on the hind legs is well defined.

Frog near the River Cocker, Cumbria on a wet night in late June 2016

On one of our expeditions, we found ourselves on the Furness peninsula. We had been told that there was a good place in the care of the National Trust for a waterside picnic; and although we actually moved on up the coast to eat, we were thrilled to discover a Natterjack Toad pool at our first port of call. Male Natterjack toads can sometimes be heard calling to the females on balmy summer evenings. It must be a special sound. It is terrific that the National Trust is working to conserve the Natterjack, which has a distinctive yellow stripe along its back.

The photo below shows the pool - and you can see that it is fenced off to give added protection to the spawn, tadpoles, toadlets and adult Natterjacks. There are only 60 known sites in the UK inhabited by these toads, which are protected by law in all stages of their development, and consequently should not be disturbed. Full marks to the National Trust and other bodies for protecting the Cumbrian population of these special amphibians. 

More Frogspawn at Felixstowe

We went looking for spawn at Felixstowe over the weekend, and as you can see, it was still there. I am wondering what the difference is between the two clumps in the picture above. Please leave a comment if you can enlighten me. Is it just a matter of age? Incidentally, I have just joined iSpot so thank you to those who suggested that I might like to do this. It is taking me a little while to find my way around.

The photo below suggests to me that it will not be too long before we are past the spawning stage ...

Frogspawn in Felixstowe - our first sighting in 2016

David took these photographs of frogspawn in Felixstowe yesterday. This is a first sighting for us in 2016.

Fair Acre Press have been running the Maligned Species project, and frogs are one of the four species that constitute the project.

You can buy the Fair Acre eBook of poetry about frogs here.

You can listen to the Fair Acre podcast on the Common Frog here.

Amphibian Alert ~ Frogs Galore

N.B. My 'Tree Following 2014' post is HERE. The Loose and Leafy page about the project is HERE.

After a tip-off from the Landguard Bird Observatory, we went in search of frogs. I failed to see an amphibian at all last year, but this sighting more than made up for that fact.

This marshy area was apparently part of Horse Shoe Creek up until 1867 when it was brought into use by HM War Department for rifle practice. The pond was dug in 1993 and is now a haven for wildlife.

We counted 73 Common Frogs, and there were probably more in among the spawn and the weed. Leeches, Hemiclepsis marginata, were noted in the pond back in 2011. 

Frogs tend to emerge from hibernation in late February. The females spawn almost immediately. 

There are frequently 300-400 eggs in a clump! 

Spawn was noted here from 29 March in 2013, so our milder winter has brought things forward. 

The pond is part of a Nature Reserve, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the rarity of vegetated shingle habitat nearby. 

I was fascinated by the lighter colour of the frog on the left. The sunlight was low and it was hard to get a crisp photo. Females tend to be a lighter colour than than the males, though frogs have a certain ability to change the tone of their skin to match the light or shade of their environment. Common Frogs come in a surprising range of shades, stripes and speckles.

Common frogs can live up to eight years.

Females tend to be larger than their mates.

Female frogs begin producing spawn once they reach their third year. 

The photo above shows the wide windswept beach at Felixstowe's Landguard Point.

 And finally ... a photo showing conservation work in action, protecting the habitat of the rare Stinking Goosefoot.