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Post by rowanberry on Nov 13, 2018 21:05:54 GMT
Usually by this time there are quite a few frogs in the pond, getting ready to hibernate.
This year, hardly any... in fact, the leaves and sediment at the bottom are so undisturbed the water is clear enough for me to see through to the bottom and I don't think there are any at all in there.
Nellie Dee mentioned in another post about indications of there being a tough winter ahead, and I'm wondering if this might be another one. If there is a severe freeze, they of course they suffocate underwater- are they chosing to stay on land instead?
It will be interesting to see what happens once the weather really turns.
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Post by NellyDee on Nov 17, 2018 10:15:46 GMT
I only saw a few frogs after they emerged from the pond and not seen any since. Maybe it was just a bad year for them, like wise the newts, considering there were so many of them. Re freezing, already the shallow end of the pond has frozen over twice, then defrosted again. Looks like we are going to have freezing temperatures again next week.
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Post by rowanberry on Mar 15, 2019 22:23:21 GMT
We've gone from there being hardly any frogs to suddenly a population explosion... next door's pond is being filled in, and I'm wondering if the ones from there have moved into ours. There's spawn filling up the pond baskets, and I'm going to have to hang some empty ones with watercress... else there's no room left for any more clumps. Provided we don't get a late frost, it's going to be a good year for tadpoles!
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Post by aeshna5 on Mar 16, 2019 3:35:51 GMT
We've gone from there being hardly any frogs to suddenly a population explosion... next door's pond is being filled in, and I'm wondering if the ones from there have moved into ours. There's spawn filling up the pond baskets, and I'm going to have to hang some empty ones with watercress... else there's no room left for any more clumps. Provided we don't get a late frost, it's going to be a good year for tadpoles!
I'm afraid it looks like being the first year my main pond has no spawn in it. !5 years ago I Counted 90 frogs. There's been a gradual decline + last year saw 20 there. Haven't seen any yet this year but had one spawn clump in a shallow well vegetated container on the patio + another clump of spawn about a week later in a small mini-pond I installed last summer. Still hoping I might get some more visitors but as the month progresses I'm less confident! |
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Post by rowanberry on Mar 16, 2019 9:20:59 GMT
That is a really shame, Aeshna... but don't give up yet. There were fewer frogs than usual in our pond all winter, (usually lots turn up prior to hibernation) but this spring they all seem to have arrived very late, and all at once. I do think the next-door pond being drained might be a big factor, too.
They are saying there's a general decline in frog populations, unfortunately.  The BTO's list shows this trend in all amphibian species.
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The BTO's list shows this trend in all amphibian species.