Tag Archives: frogs

Toadaly Awesome

Here is the toad! Or is it a toad? One of many? There is a toad in the cellar – but is it the same one? I saw the cellar one siting on the lawn-mower when I went to get some wine. Next morning I saw this one in the back bed. Same toad? Different toad? They are about the same size – a bit smaller than my thumb – but I don’t get how the cellar toad would get up the very steep steps. I can’t find anywhere that tells me the average territory size.

I kept coming across it when I was doing the back bed and having to stop and leave it. I thought it had gone away but then I thought I had sliced it with the trowel. I hadn’t but I think it was a bit scared!

Tiny weeny frogs

We got these about 4 days ago. You can’t really see because they look like tiny droplets but there are frogs in all these pictures!

It’s easy but dangerous to undervalue the ones that haven’t got legs once you’ve got ones that have so here’s a pic of one of those.

They’ve ALL got legs

In the last week, we’ve gone from a few tadpoles with legs to everybody having them. Some of them have got tiny arms too I think but it’s hard to spot. Jade – who loves her pond even more than me – has got baby froglets with no tails at all.

The most advanced ones hang out in the shallow bit that gets the most sun. Is this because the ones that like the warmest bit, grow quicker? Or is it that the quick growing ones grab the best spots?

With legs comes consciousness. When they’re plain tadpoles, they don’t shy from anything. You can stick your fingers in the pond and they just wiggle round you. But the more like frogs they get, the more they notice movement and dash away when you approach. So it’s harder to take pictures but I will.

Tadpoles hatching

The tadpoles hatched! Our first ever. We’ve had tadpoles before but not from spawn (from other ponds). They started hatching about the 23rd March. They come out very sleepy. They don’t move a lot and at first I thought they might be leeches that had eaten the tadpoles but they are not. Here’s a pic with some still in, some coming out

tadpoles in spawn