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.

Beautiful Birds: A Cold Afternoon at Needham Market

A tense moment: Canada Goose meets Mute Swan

A Black-headed Gull surveys the scene.

I'm guessing the huge drake (back right) is a Mallard hybrid

You can read my previous post about hybridisation here.

Time for a spot of ...

... spring-cleaning, aka preening.

The gulls thought so, too.

The one on the left is a juvenile, with paler head, legs and beak.

A final fluff-up ...

... before joining the Mute Swan and other gulls on the water.

The Moorhen preferred to scrabble for food on the bank.

We saw a few distant Fieldfare on the way home.

Seasonal Splash: Anglesey Abbey and Rendlesham Forest

We saw quite a few birds over the weekend, despite bitterly cold weather. The Blue tits continued to enjoy the coconut fat-ball in the garden, and were joined or pushed out by Robins and Great tits.

We ventured out through light snow to Anglesey Abbey, where we saw a Redwing among the snowdrops, but it was too well covered in the undergrowth for my camera to 'catch' it. We also noticed this Fieldfare, seen initially through binoculars, as it was a good distance away. 

The birch wood was magical, with snowflakes falling and the occasional clump of snowdrops underground, set off by the silver shimmer of bark.

This is the mill. Folk were hard at work, packaging wholewheat flour ... and on a cold afternoon, the smell of was most compelling!

While I was looking for Fieldfare, we suddenly saw a green and yellow bird shoot past at speed. It landed on the grass, quite a long way from us, but near enough to see that it was indeed a Green Woodpecker, our first of the season. 

The thrush was also a good distance away, but here's a photo for the record.

It is always a joy to see the first wildflowers of a new year, and this small Violet was peeping out from the undergrowth.

I was astonished to see such an early periwinkle, but it may have been a 'garden escape'.

Then yesterday we took a chilly afternoon walk in the opposite direction, at Rendlesham Forest, near Orford. The light was very poor and once again samll flakes of snow were falling. We came across a single clump of Snowdrops. I wonder whether someone or some creature had (trans)planted them.

Rendlesham Forest in administered by the Forestry Commission, and I always like their signs. We were glad that there were coloured trails to follow as the forest is extensive.

There were small circles of ice on the water, but it was the reflected trees that caught my eye.

We drove home 'via' Orford, where I caught my first glimpse of the wildlife haven, Havergate Island, in the River Ore. We saw a Barn Owl (our second in about as many weeks) swooping low over the field and in front of our car. The light was fading and my photo didn't come out, but we enjoyed the sighting. I'm always amazed at just how pale, almost luminescent, these birds are.


2013 Bird list to date ...

1] Blue tit (HP = home patch)
2] Chaffinch (HP)
3] Wood Pigeon (HP)
4] Magpie (HP)
5] Mute Swans (Mistley and Flatford)
6] Blackbird (HP)
7] Goldfinch (HP)
8] Great tit (HP)
9] Greenfinch (HP)
10] Robin (HP)
11] Marsh harrier (Minsmere)
12] Black-headed gull (Minsmere)
13] Bullfinch (Minsmere)
14] Song Thrush (HP)
15] Wren (HP)
16] Canada Goose (Needham Market)
17] Great Crested Grebe (Needham Market)
18] Mallard (Needham Market and Flatford)
19] White ?'garden escape' Pekin duck (Needham Market)
20] Moorhen (Needham Market)
21] Jay (HP)
22] Long-tailed tit (Minsmere)
23] Cormorant (Needham Market)
24] Turnstone (Southwold, Shotley)
25] Herring Gull (Southwold and Felixstowe)
26] Shelduck (Minsmere)
27] Pheasant (Minsmere and Flatford)
28] Barn Owl (Flatford and Rendlesham)
29] Carrion Crow (HP)
30] Starling (HP)
31] Pied Wagtail (Ipswich) 
32] Redwing (Anglesey Abbey)
33] Fieldfare (Anglesey Abbey)
34] Green Woodpecker (Anglesey Abbey)
35] Egyptian Goose (Ickworth)
36] Grey Heron (flying overhead)
37] Coot 
38] Dunnock (HP)

Wildflowers, 2013
1] Violet
2] Aconite
3] Snowdrop (not sure how 'wild'!)
4] Periwinkle (ditto)
5] Daisy (March, HP)
6] Dog's Mercury (March, Kentwell)