Amphibian Invasion

Last year, the first spawn clump appeared in my pond. This year it appears that frogs have arrived in force. First appearance around March 8th, and today there are at least 3 females and 15 males, and quite possibly many more hiding in the hornwort.


male and female common frog in amplexus

Two clumps of spawn and around 3 females/males in amplexus, with several wrestling matches ongoing. The females in amplexus had not yet released their spawn and were moving around the pond alot. It could be that they are not happy with their current mate and are searching for one able to wrestle him off.






males waiting hopefully for a successful interception .....

Hopefully some tadpoles will reach metamorphosis this year, but predator numbers are also high in the pond, with several smooth newts present along with many dragonfly larvae, so on the face of it, the chances are not good. Maybe I'll just have to dig them another pond.



A healthy amphibian population with large breeding pond, areas of rough grass, meadow and hedgerow. Can a garden get any better than this?.