Tadpoles to froglets

[alison]

Our tadpole nursery has been a big success this year. When we put the little pond in last year for the few clumps of spawn I didn't expect to have so many come the following year to spawn in it. 12 frogs went into the little pond with another 30 odd going into the large pond. They spawned really well and we have been watching the change from jelly frogspawn to tiny tadpoles into now some fully changed froglets and some that are still at stages between the process. Here are a couple of pics.




Today there are some fully formed little ones in the pond so I am hoping they can find their way out and back. Now just to keep them safe from the lawnmowers, cats, dogs, birds..........

[alison]

The tiny froglets are doing well. It is lovely to see so many in the undergrowth making their way too and from the ponds each day.
I cut back a lot of plants from what was supposed to be the rockery, which is connected to a small section of the pond walls. It had turned into a bit of a jungle and nowhere would you have thought that it would have rocks underneath.It was then that I saw all the frogs. They were all happy under the shade of the plants. By then it was too late though and most of the plants had been cut back. I hope to put some more suitable plants in and just hope they give the shade and cover that the froglets are used to.

[alison]

Yesterday I decided that the little tadpole pond needed a good clean as the water was exceptionally green and as there is no pump or running water I thought it might be going quite stagnant. Most of the taddies have changed to froglets and have left the pond and I couldn't see the remaining tadpoles so it was a case of putting the buckets of water through a net and then putting all the remaining taddies from the net into my small tank until the job was done and they could be put back into the little pond. Imagine my surprize when I found small baby sticklebacks
I couldn't believe it as they were quite tiny between 1/2 and 3/4 an inch long. It took me a while to digest the fact that they were in the froggies pond. A little while ago I found one small adult stickleback that must have transferred into the pond when I first put spawn in last year from the big pond. This year I didn't put any spawn in from the big pond as 12 frogs spawned in the little pond when they arrived so I thought that would be enough to give them a good start. I knew during the beginning of the year that there was one stickleback in this little pond as I had seen it on occasions so when I saw it recently I put it back into the big pond thinking that it had done so well to survive from last year in such a small pond with no food except the creatures that manage to get in somehow. I still can't believe that she must have had babies recently. I feel awful that I took her away from her babies (even though I know that the male stickie looks after them) I am a bit puzzled though as it must be a female to have the eggs but the male looks after them. Maybe the female had to do everything as there was definitely only one adult fish in the pond..