I spoke too soon. There are tadpoles and frogs, they were just camouflaged in the mud. Having cleaned out Tiny Pond, I added some more aquatic gravel to settle the remaining detritus and rotting leaves. The impact of this was to reveal quite a few tadpoles that had just gone undetected because they were mostly swimming in sludge and pond weed. Now, swimming across a golden beach effect, they can be seen quite well. I’ve also spotted plenty of newts and pond snails, so Tiny Pond is healthy and supporting a good range of pond life.
Satisfied that I’d done enough clearing out and cleaning up, I wandered back to the house and stopped by Lion Pond for a quick look. I’ve got used to seeing nothing other than bees in the last few weeks, so I just stooped down to remove a few bits that had fallen into the water from the Malus above.
Then, right by my hand, I saw two frogs. A large, mature one and another that is probably one year old. Stopping to capture their portraits, I sensed another movement and looked up just in time to see what I think is my old friend from last year in the usual hiding spot. It moved too fast for a photo, but I was very happy to report the sighting of at least three frogs in Lion Pond. No doubt they were in there all the time, but on a hot day frogs do enjoy basking with their head above water.
An hour later I went out again for the last survey of the day. Back at Lion Pond, I saw all three. The little one was lying on the surface by itself. Not far away the two adults were relaxing together, aware of me but seemingly not too bothered by the camera.
Nothing much happening in Lily Pond though. No frogs or newts sighted today. Just a bloated dying snail that I removed with the fishing net. You wouldn’t have wanted a picture of that. On the other hand, the large lily has sent up some pads, now resting on the surface, and a photo looking into the water shows buds reaching up too ready for this year’s display.
FROG BLOG 