It’s been a little quiet on the frog front in the last few days and, compared to other years, the tadpoles are a bit of a puzzle, in that there aren’t many around. I can’t see any in Lion Pond. I found a big fat one in Lily Pond the other day when fishing out pond weed but that was all. There are some in Tiny Pond but, unless they’ve all gained legs and scarpered when I wasn’t looking, they seem low in numbers and no legs in sight. Having just checked last year’s blogs (see 86 Spot the Legs!), it may be a little early for legs, so my conclusion is… predators. And the main predators this year are likely to be the newts. They love a juicy tadpole meal.
Well I’m not too worried because populations come and go and there is a natural balance in nature, so when the newts get too numerous, the frogs feed on their spawn and everything settles into a rhythm. And in the meantime, I continue to spot interesting activity. Here are a few pictures of tadpoles in Tiny Pond, a pond snail with wild algae hair and a young frog in the Yard.
And now, to the newts. I’ve spotted feeding behaviour, friendly behaviour and aggressive action, either due to continued mating or competition. Sometimes I’ve been so busy following one newt with my phone close to the water surface that it’s been a surprise when another one enters the frame. And the most surprising moment was the newt coming to the surface to gulp air right beneath the camera.
Trying to get footage of the newts in action in Tiny Pond was hampered by the overgrowth of the water spearmint plant which obviously likes the habitat. The problem wasn’t the plant though, it was the pond weed clinging to the stems. There was also a huge pile of rotting leaves on the pond floor and a build-up of tadpole detritus. So, before capturing the videos I’ve posted above, I took out huge sections of the water spearmint, large clumps of weed and some of the leaves, taking care to rescue pondlife clinging to anything I removed. Below you can see the crowded pond with bluebells in the background, followed by photos showing the new plants installed and the overall result.
Aside from the pondlife, in the wider garden area I’ve noticed the season changing and slowly (very slowly this year) the weather getting a little dryer and warmer. The bluebells are over and I’ve started to clear them away. Here are a few shots of the flowers and foliage creating a show in the last few weeks, in and out of the water.
FROG BLOG 