Frogs Only Please.....

[tbendl]

Here are some pictures. And they are all around the sides like this. A ton! And CountryEscape... I unfortunately assassinated all of the dragonfly larvae when I cleaned out my snot pond a few weeks ago. Nature is kickin' my butt for that decision now...

 

[sissy]

toad porn geeze what next on the sight

I've got these guys in the pond... 3 in total. Hopefully i'll get the frogspawn too, if i can stop the Koi from eating it.

View attachment 79498

 

[Figgy]

I posted this on my blog tonight:

It's been warm today with glorious sunshine for the best part of it. Unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy it as I had to work but it would have done wonders for the developing frogspawn.

I didn't get a chance to look in on the pond when I arrived home in the early evening as I had to go shopping. However, when I got back later in the evening and had finished packing away the shopping I couldn't resist a quick peek with my torch.

Now I know they're not the best photos I've taken, especially given that it was pitch black. Nevertheless, the photos do show that the developing tadpoles have now emerged from the jelly into a writhing mass. I've read somewhere that right now they're at their most fragile and they'll cling themselves to floating weeds or grasses until they're ready to swim around and feed on algae.

Whilst getting these photos I spotted what looked like a very long pale coloured tail just poking out from underneath where the tadpoles have hatched. Upon closer inspection it quickly vanished but I suspect it is a Smooth Newt which will no doubt be predating the tadpoles.

Having discovered newts in my pond last year I always dreaded that should frogs lay spawn this year then there would be a good chance that the newts would come to feast. Seeing the newt tail tonight made me want to take action to safeguard the tadpoles but to do so would be interfering with nature. It's the reason why frogs lay so much frogspawn in the first place, to enable at least a few tadpoles to reach adulthood.

 

[haver79]

Yep tbendl looks exactly like the toad tads I had in my pond last year. Tons of them. One day they simply disappeared. And we did see some young toads around the yard but with all the tads in the pond you would think they would of been everywhere but where did they all go? Who knows.

 

[CountryEscape]

Same here, saw hundreds of them, them poof, they were all gone. I never even saw one little tiny toad baby on top of lily pads. I heard fish won't eat toad taddies, they taste bad, so maybe your newt won't eat yours either, Figgy, if they are toadies, that is. In the end, yes, most of them will be a meal for something, but then we wouldn't want hundreds or thousands of them in or around our ponds. I do, however, want a few to survive! I always have toads and frogs, so I guess they do! ;-)

 

[tbendl]

I hope a few survive but thank you for sharing the stories of them all not hatching. I had visions of hippity hoppers all over my yard driving my cat bonkers. I also was happy to see a dragonfly out and about.. Apparently he didn't get word of my larvae slaughter. I apologized just in case though. Happy Wednesday!

 

[addy1]

i hope you get to see the babies they are so tiny, like a piece of gravel if not smaller. When they morph you will see tons of them hopping around. I see them sitting on the lotus leaves.

 

[CountryEscape]

Addy is the only one I know that gets pics of baby toads! They look much larger in her close up photos than they really are. I'm always amazed.
Here are are few of my resident bullfrogs this morning ....

And then this evening I was outside with a spotlight, to see how many more I could spot, and got some more pics. This first one was within 6" of a bucket I had new fantail goldfish in. I guess the spotlight blinded him, because I could have picked him up. VERY large frog ... maybe a female full of eggs. Not certain, but thinking the smaller frogs are the males.

He finally jumped into the water, where I got a pic of him "hiding" on the bottom of the goldfish pond. This is right at 3' or little deeper. He has his eyes open, so he's watching me.

 

[addy1]

Toad baby before it hops out of the pond, lotus leaf and a rain drop

 

[CountryEscape]

I find it amazing, Addy, that you were having really cold temps so much later than me, but i only have a few lily pads on the surface. I worry with fish spawning, nothing for the fry to even think about hiding in. The anarachis I've put in last year seems to have not made it through the winter. Maybe I need to find a HUGE bunch of it to toss in the ponds and see if I get any babies this year. Didn't spot any toads last night either, only bullfrogs.

 

[addy1]

I should have been more specific, that is from last year.............they are just dropping eggs right now. I have lily pads slowly hitting the surface, the anarachis and hornwort made it. The anarachis was in ponds that froze to the bottom, coming back great, ice melted, started growing.
We are cool and wet, 50ish if lucky

 

[tbendl]

I did see a baby toad yesterday. About the same size as the one sitting on your lily. He is adorable.

 

[addy1]

They are so tiny!

 

[sissy]

I took 4 more toads I caught last night over county lines .Hubby used led light to spot light them while i caught them .Nothing better to do since we were without power after bad lightening storm yesterday

 

[Figgy]

Popped out the pond late last night with the torch to see if the newt was hanging around again but was please to see two frogs in the pond instead. A quick check up on the tadpoles early this evening after a warm sunny day and clearly they're doing well: