In message , K
writes
Robert writes
In message , Sacha
writes

Every year I'm surprised at how long it takes for the spawn to appear in our
pond, given that the toads have been around for some time. I know
absolutely nothing about gestation with regard to toads, so how long DOES it
normally take for them to spawn? Do the females hold off until the weather
warms up a bit, or something?!


No idea about the comparative gestation times of frogs and toads -
based on the fact that I found a very sleepy male toad still
hibernating in a heap of leaf litter yesterday perhaps they are just
more laid back than the frogs who seem to start mating when weather
conditions are still risky.

Frogs lay spawn earlier in the year than toads - our frog spawn is any
time from beginning to end of March, and I think (but am not sure) that
it's nearer May with toads.

Are what you seeing around now toads or frogs? Frogs have a dark patch
behind the eye, often spotted or blotched, and leap. Toads have no eye
patch, are very obviously fatter and squatter in shape, they waddle
rather than leap, and are warty so as to appear exactly like a lump of
clay soil.

Plenty of frogs (and newts) in the pond - the only toad I have spotted
so far this year is the one I disturbed from hibernation.
--
Robert

On 24 Feb, 20:34, Sally Thompson
wrote:
Saw our first frogspawn of the year today - two weeks earlier than usual
(last year was on 11th March). I think this is very early for this part of
the country. We went out just now with the torch and the big pond is teeming
with frogs. Quite lifts the heart.

Also newts already in the pond, which seems early to us although we haven't
kept a record of dates of those.

Mind you, they don't really need the pond since the ground is so incredibly
waterlogged it's difficult to walk on at the moment. They could just bask in
the puddles.

Just been out on the Clwydian Hills this afternoon, there's a cattle
trough on the side of Foel Fenlli at about 450m asl, part filled with
mud and stones from a landslip leaving only about 50-150mm of water
and it's piled high with frogspawn. I watch this trough every year.
I've seen spawn in there when it's frozen and when it's nearly dry but
there's some there every year - never seen a frog around there
though ;~)

In message . com, Rod
writes
On 24 Feb, 20:34, Sally Thompson
wrote:
Saw our first frogspawn of the year today - two weeks earlier than usual
(last year was on 11th March). I think this is very early for this part of
the country. We went out just now with the torch and the big pond is teeming
with frogs. Quite lifts the heart.

Also newts already in the pond, which seems early to us although we haven't
kept a record of dates of those.

Mind you, they don't really need the pond since the ground is so incredibly
waterlogged it's difficult to walk on at the moment. They could just bask in
the puddles.

Just been out on the Clwydian Hills this afternoon, there's a cattle
trough on the side of Foel Fenlli at about 450m asl, part filled with
mud and stones from a landslip leaving only about 50-150mm of water
and it's piled high with frogspawn. I watch this trough every year.
I've seen spawn in there when it's frozen and when it's nearly dry but
there's some there every year - never seen a frog around there
though ;~)


I've seen newts in an undamaged cattle trough on Dartmoor - we could
just about imagine newts walking all the way up there, but we couldn't
see how they'd got into the trough.

Meanwhile, a third frog has spawned in my pondlet.

--
Sue ]

On 26/2/07 18:53, in article , "MadCow"
wrote:

In message . com, Rod
writes
On 24 Feb, 20:34, Sally Thompson
wrote:
Saw our first frogspawn of the year today - two weeks earlier than usual
(last year was on 11th March). I think this is very early for this part of
the country. We went out just now with the torch and the big pond is
teeming
with frogs. Quite lifts the heart.

Also newts already in the pond, which seems early to us although we haven't
kept a record of dates of those.

Mind you, they don't really need the pond since the ground is so incredibly
waterlogged it's difficult to walk on at the moment. They could just bask
in
the puddles.

Just been out on the Clwydian Hills this afternoon, there's a cattle
trough on the side of Foel Fenlli at about 450m asl, part filled with
mud and stones from a landslip leaving only about 50-150mm of water
and it's piled high with frogspawn. I watch this trough every year.
I've seen spawn in there when it's frozen and when it's nearly dry but
there's some there every year - never seen a frog around there
though ;~)


I've seen newts in an undamaged cattle trough on Dartmoor - we could
just about imagine newts walking all the way up there, but we couldn't
see how they'd got into the trough.

At our local pub we rescued a newt which had got into, but couldn't get out
of, a stainless steel drinking bowl for dogs. Dartmoor has lots of boggy,
wet, dewpond bits, so perhaps the newts mostly surive on those?

Meanwhile, a third frog has spawned in my pondlet.

Still no spawn here. I think we have backwardly shy amphibians!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:53:02 +0000, MadCow wrote
(in article ):

In message . com, Rod
writes
On 24 Feb, 20:34, Sally Thompson
wrote:
Saw our first frogspawn of the year today - two weeks earlier than usual
(last year was on 11th March). I think this is very early for this part of
the country. We went out just now with the torch and the big pond is
teeming
with frogs. Quite lifts the heart.

Also newts already in the pond, which seems early to us although we haven't
kept a record of dates of those.

Mind you, they don't really need the pond since the ground is so incredibly
waterlogged it's difficult to walk on at the moment. They could just bask
in
the puddles.

Just been out on the Clwydian Hills this afternoon, there's a cattle
trough on the side of Foel Fenlli at about 450m asl, part filled with
mud and stones from a landslip leaving only about 50-150mm of water
and it's piled high with frogspawn. I watch this trough every year.
I've seen spawn in there when it's frozen and when it's nearly dry but
there's some there every year - never seen a frog around there
though ;~)


I've seen newts in an undamaged cattle trough on Dartmoor - we could
just about imagine newts walking all the way up there, but we couldn't
see how they'd got into the trough.

Meanwhile, a third frog has spawned in my pondlet.



And Tony counted 24 frogs heaving around in the pond this morning (well, I
think that's what they were doing g). There must be many more we haven't
seen, and it's a wonderful sight.




--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Burne-Jones/William Morris window in Shropshire church:
http://www.whitton-stmarys.org.uk