They are back..Hurrah

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They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:21 am

Over the coldest days when the pond was clear I could see some pairs of frogs on the bottom of the pond, but now it is warmer the pond is again murky and impossible to see into. When it was clear I could see down and noticed my frog ornament that had fallen into the pond. It was a frog sitting on top of a rock which said 'welcome'. I thought "perfect opportunity to pull it out" so got the net and managed to pick it up and also two frogs which must have been beside it. Then came the shock as inside the little hole underneath the ornament there were at least 5 other frogs. How they all got into such a small space I don't know. I felt so cruel lifting them out into the cold so immediately put the ornament back into the pond. Goodness knows if I will ever see it again without any frogs in. :lol:
Anyway today the croaking is back and so many of the frogs are swimming round the pond. They are at least a week early and maybe more as I am sure they don't normally come to mate until the middle of March. I get so excited when they return each year. :)
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:09 pm

My neighbour Christine came round practically in hysterics saying "Alison can you come into the passage" (her house and the next door have those passageways leading into their back gardens) She said she had found some type of creature which she thought might be a toad but it was very big and she had stamped next to it and prodded it but it didn't move.
When I got there her daughter was also there saying "What is it Alison."
Well it was only a very large female frog well fat with spawn. I picked her up (to which there was a loud cry of horror from the neighbours that I dared to do such a thing!) and took her gently to my pond as I am sure she was making her way there. I couldn't believe they made such a fuss as each year the frogs come back and go through my neighbours garden. Throughout the summer the frogs are always being brought back to me by her grandchilden but Christine goes a bit crazy when she knows it is time for the frogs to return. She just doesn't like them. :(
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby dampflippers on Fri Mar 13, 2009 2:52 pm

Hurray!
Frog action going on at last!
Plenty visible through the binoculars, but no spawn yet.
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby Ponddipperdave on Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:30 pm

I think two days of sunshine and the frogspawn appears.
I think today may be the day !
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby dampflippers on Sat Mar 14, 2009 12:42 pm

One clump yesterday and I think more today, but it has sunk. I think the ladies are using it to stand on for a bit of buoyancy.
About 10 couples visible at any time , but they dive as soon as I go out, so having to use binocs.
My top pond which they don't spawn in is looking very churned up still. Don't know if it is just frog action under water, or whether some animal is getting in.
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:34 pm

I have spawn today and about 15 to 20 frogs visable. :D They have spawned on the primrose willow stems but they are right in the deep end of the pond. Usually they go in the shallow end. I am worried that once they are taddies they will all get munched on by the fish. Maybe I will push some of the weed down into the shallows to give them a better chance.
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby dampflippers on Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:52 pm

Mine are spawning in deeper water too!
Maybe they think it is going to freeze again.
It was quite funny earlier this morning. I have a frog thermometer, and it was bobbing around and being chased around. Do you think it was a misguided rather frustrated male??
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:25 pm

Ha ha that made me laugh. It reminded me of the time when an amourous male took a liking to my golden orfe. It stayed on for well over 24 hours. In the end I had to intervene and when it got close enough to net I was able to get them apart. Everytime I came near though the frog would paddle the poor fish away from me, it took ages to finally get him. :lol:
I am still a bit worried about the spawn as it is only on thin starwort and primrose willow in the deep end and I fear it may just sink into the bottom and give the fish a feast. I have phoned froglife to ask advice as I would hate to move it down only for the frogs to desert it, but there was no one available. I have left my phone no. I will leave it today and if no advice by tomorrow I think I would move it into a thicker clump. I was having to think that if someone asked me for advice about it what would I tell them and I am sure that I would advise them to move it carefully to a safer shallower location.
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:37 pm

Well that was quick. Froglife have phoned me back and said they thought that was a good idea to move them gently over into the shallower end of the pond. So I am going now to move them. It is a lovely day here (by the way has anyone noticed Sonnys weather section on the website now, it only does the weather near us as the weather station is in our back garden but it was an interesting present on his birthday a couple of weeks ago) so I will go and enjoy the pond for a while in the sunshine. :D
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:53 pm

The frogs all seem to have accepted the move okay and the spawn looks fine. I was talking to my mother in law yesterday and she said that it is forecast snow and winter weather next week so maybe the frogs did know best Damp when they went into deeper water, but now mine will have to take their chances in the shallows.
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby Ponddipperdave on Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:26 pm

Yes, I've got tons of the stuff now, All over the pebble beach.
I can't see any at the usual end.
I've moved about half into 10 buckets as usual.
Only one dead female, do you think squirrels attack them?
I've got one of those large tubs of fat balls for the birds. The squirrel actually pushed a paint pot off the top to lift the lid!
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:05 pm

The squirrels certainly love the fat balls. If I leave any loose enough on a branch of the tree or bush I find them gone along to the squirrels hideyhole. He is a great lover of apples as well and can be seen sitting eating an apple on top of the bluetits nesting box.
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:19 pm

Dave how do you manage to keep the taddies alive in the buckets? I once transferred some of mine and it just went off and decayed smelling awful. I felt so awful that I had caused their demise so although I want to keep some elsewhere I just don't know what to do for the best. Do you just make sure that there is enough algae and plantlife in with them?
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby Ponddipperdave on Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:47 pm

Most of those in the Buckets are successful. If you see any with white specks in the nucleus, I think these are unfertilised and will go off. If some of the good spawn comes alive they will eat the bad stuff. Two clumps to a bucket with some pondweed to oxygenate them.

Some of the clumps higher up the pebble beach are drying out. I put the hosepipe in to raise the level a little and loads of little taddies swam away. I think those dried up clumps matured quicker, maybe hotter in the sun or some obscure survival technique. Any way, The reason they laid the spawn on the beach was maybe the bottom of the pond was full. wherever I dipped my net, there were clumps on the bottom.

The Newts have arrived now!
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Re: They are back..Hurrah

Postby alison on Wed Apr 08, 2009 9:57 am

I wish I had newts. :(
I have put the little pond in now and put some oxygenators and a purple Iris plant in. I have transferred some of the frogspawn in so I hope for the best. I used mainly the pond water from the pond they came out of with a little bit of tap water left for a couple of days. They have been in for about a week now and so far so good. It is just when they change to taddies that I am not sure about as do they need some algae to live on?
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