Frogs and other wildlife

Last post 22-05-2012 8:40 AM by sue1002. 20 replies.

• 26/01/2010 05:33 PM

  Julie Location: London Joined on: 28 Apr 2009 Posts: 410

  Reply | Contact In the absence of a wildlife topic I am posting here as suggested. I am desperate to have frogs in my pond. I have tried getting frog spawn from friends 4 times but never saw a single tadpole. I tried putting the container in the pond to allow the temperature to adjust but didn't help. What am I doing wrong? No, I can't just wait for frogs to find me. I'm in the middle of London and they can't find their way to my garden. Would tadpoles be better to try? Does anyone expect to have any that they could give me?  Something burrowed into my compost pile in the past week or 2. I haven't seen any squirrels around for a while and not sure they do that anyway. Used to see foxes but haven't seen one for a while. I think they moved on when next door cleared up their overgrown garden. Any ideas what else would do that? Just to complete the wildlife topic, I saw a bumblebee in the garden last week. Very surprising. Has anyone else seen any bees around in the winter?

• 26/01/2010 06:31 PM

  In reply to

  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 9,464

  Reply | Contact  We've had a few bumblebees in the garden all throughout the winter, they are liking the Clematis cirrhosa in particular which is in full flower, and also spend a lot of time around the Cyclamen too. Does your pond have any fish in it?  I've only ever noticed spawn in our pond once and that was in the spring 8 years ago after we'd installed the pond the summer before.  As soon as the tadpoles grew legs, they disappeared almost overnight when we realised that they had all been eaten by the fish.  If any more has been laid since, we haven't seen any as it would almost certainly be gobbled up as soon as it was laid. We do still have lots of frogs in the garden though, they mainly hide in damp and shady spots around the garden but must be actually breeding in other ponds in neighbouring gardens. sue1002

• 26/01/2010 08:22 PM

  In reply to

  geoff51 Location: Totton, Hampshire Joined on: 13 Feb 2009 Posts: 187

  Reply | Contact Frogs normally return to the pond where they spawned so you may have to be patient until they find your pond. Are there any wooded areas near you with any streams or ponds or even wet ditches that dont dry out too quickly? If so have a look in them from now to about end March for any signs of spawn or tadpoles and try collecting it as it would be local so to speak and might be more successful Although I live on the edge of the New Forest we are surrounded by many gardens and despite that we get frogs every year in our pond and have done for many years but unfortunately most tadpoles get eaten by the goldfish. Be patient it takes a long time for a wildlife pond to reach maturity Geoff51 Pond life!?!

• 27/01/2010 12:14 PM

  In reply to

  Susiq Location: Northumberland Joined on: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 3,125

  Reply | Contact I wonder if there is any difference between Frog spawn and Toad spawn? We have thousands of new toads every year, the fish don't seem to touch the spawn at all?? I know the adult toads have two poison sacks on their faces - probably why the dogs don't bother with them either whilst they're hopping about the place. If we don't get a sharp cold snap in Feb I expect they will start making their way back to start breeding soon. I love listening to their mating calls.

• 27/01/2010 10:35 PM

  In reply to

  The Hedge Folk Location: Somerset Joined on: 22 Jan 2010 Posts: 663

  Reply | Contact Spawn is very sensitive: you need to move it fast, with the minimum of temperature change (transporting it in large container of water will help), ideally with a good clump of oxygenating weed in it - as the water warms in transit, it also loses oxygen. Do it on a cool, cloudy day if possible. You did the right thing letting it adjust to the temperature of the water, but if it was DOA, then you'll need to try again next year. The best bet is to find a nearby garden with a good frog population and talk to them about using some, to cut down on the travel time.  If you have fish, you need to make sure that the tads have plenty of places to hide: thick clumps of the oxygenating weed Elodea are great and you can also make little holes in pots and put them in the pond so that their lip is above the water to make refuges for them.  Tadpoles are good at hiding: you never know, some might have made it.  A cautionary tale: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_7282000/7282649.stm Personally, I think that the more frogs there are, the better.   Bees are active all year round, they just tend to hang out in the hive, eating honey during winter, but there are flowers to tended most days of the year! No idea what was in your compost. If you're brave enough to find out, I'd be intruiged to hear about it - just don't go in there alone .... www.ashridgetrees.co.uk

• 28/01/2010 12:24 PM	In reply to
  Julie Location: London Joined on: 28 Apr 2009 Posts: 410	Reply | Contact No fish in my current ponds, nor in the previous garden I had so they didn't eat the spawn.  I looked thru the tunnel that was dug in the pile with a flashlight but couldn't see anything.

• 28/01/2010 12:56 PM	In reply to
  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,766	Reply | Contact Rats are the usual compost heap tunnelers - baits are most efffective, live capture traps friendliest to other garden wildlife,  airgun most fun: http://naturalengland.etraderstores.com/NaturalEnglandShop/Product.aspx?ProductID=831d8338-b0f6-459c-b606-d4b0cbc28b2e  Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 29/01/2010 08:42 AM	In reply to
  Julie Location: London Joined on: 28 Apr 2009 Posts: 410	Reply | Contact  Geoff, the only woods near me are Hampstead Heath from which I am reluctant to take any wildlife.

• 29/01/2010 08:07 PM	In reply to
  geoff51 Location: Totton, Hampshire Joined on: 13 Feb 2009 Posts: 187	Reply | Contact If you live near Hampstead Heath just be patient an wait you may be lucky and frogs will find your pond. In the meantime dont keep your garden too tidy keep hiding places for insects etc which are food for many wildlife Geoff51 Pond life!?!

• 23/02/2010 01:41 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230	Reply | Contact Maybe frogs will turn up once they are informed about the pond? it might not be a pond that they like to live in? a made a big log pile and just waited for the beetles to move in on their own, now it's full of beetles. Some wild animals will only turn up at night when people are asleep and they go in the garden in the dark. digger Sage of the fells

• 23/02/2010 03:17 PM	In reply to
  hydropiper Location: Cardiff Joined on: 23 Jun 2009 Posts: 162	Reply | Contact You need a couple of amorous frogs to move in. Perhaps you could put a advert in the Amphibian Advertiser? "Friendly frogs wanted to populate pleasant pond" should do it.  Chris

• 23/02/2010 03:54 PM	In reply to
  geoff51 Location: Totton, Hampshire Joined on: 13 Feb 2009 Posts: 187	Reply | Contact Do I detect a note of sarcasm Geoff51 Pond life!?!

• 23/02/2010 04:08 PM	In reply to
  hydropiper Location: Cardiff Joined on: 23 Jun 2009 Posts: 162	Reply | Contact No sarcasm or insult intended. It was just a joke, for fun and amusement of others.  I always stick to the forum guidelines. You won't find me advertising! www.visitthissiteandmakemealotofmoneybybuyingmyplants.com Chris

• 23/02/2010 06:08 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 5,230	Reply | Contact Hmmmm I believe admin say that you have to put in a smilie to inform people that you are having a joke, kind of ruins the punchline though! although I have had word from a secret source that indicates I may be able to continue with my wayward antagonism when the mood takes me. digger Sage of the fells

• 23/02/2010 08:54 PM

  In reply to

  AlexS Location: Reading Joined on: 06 Sep 2009 Posts: 499

  Reply | Contact In my small garden I have 5 'ponds'. The largest and deepest of them is a medium-sized Tub Trug - those ever-so-useful flexible plastic containers with lots of uses in the garden. Two others are old washing-up bowls, the fourth is a round concrete bowl the size of a car tyre and about 4 inches deep, the fifth an old header tank from the loft. They're all sunk in the ground as wildlife refuges of some sort. I've seen frogs in all five of them at one time or another, and three of them have had frogspawn in them, with two of those producing new frogs. It seems to me that the frogs will find you if you give them some encouragement. Alex