Saturday 17 July 2010
Saturday 5 June 2010
Springwatch again!
It's time for Springwatch once again. Three weeks of nightly entertainment from the natural world presented by Kate Humble, Chris Packham and company.
On the topic of ringing (birds) I wonder if you can put a ring on a frog's leg? Hmm ... it could cause a hazard for the frog - risk of getting stuck on undergrowth, etc. Maybe another way would be to put a coloured spot on it's back. But what? - Frogs have fine skin that absorbs easily.
It would be good to monitor it each year and see how long it returned to the garden for. Even better - it would be good to monitor how far it travelled. A tracker!!!
Any ideas?
On the topic of ringing (birds) I wonder if you can put a ring on a frog's leg? Hmm ... it could cause a hazard for the frog - risk of getting stuck on undergrowth, etc. Maybe another way would be to put a coloured spot on it's back. But what? - Frogs have fine skin that absorbs easily.
It would be good to monitor it each year and see how long it returned to the garden for. Even better - it would be good to monitor how far it travelled. A tracker!!!
Any ideas?
New frogs found!
Two new frog species discovered in Panama’s fungal war zone. Click on above title to see the link.
Sunday 18 April 2010
The Frogs' Chorus
Click on the above title for Paul McCartney's rendition of this all-time favourite :o) Croak, croak!
Monday 29 March 2010
All finished - spawn laid and frogs gone!
Well that's it! The excitement's over for another year.
Although the numbers were down (around fifty frogs instead of an expected 60), I'm pleased to say I haven't found any dead frogs in the pond like other people have reported. Spawn has been laid in great quantities and the frogs have disappeared from the pond once more until next year. And yes! I do a head count - several actually. Little things just won't sit still!
I did eventually managed to take some photographs. The best way is at night with our outside light on - and using the flash on my camera. The frogs don't seem to mind my presence quite as much as when I try it during the day - I think the light shining on the pond helps camouflage me. Any skittish ones that dive for cover usually re-appear within a few minutes and don't seem to mind me after that. Neither do they seem bothered by the camera's flash. There's always a few obliging frogs that seem particularly unphased by my presence and seems at times to almost be posing!
One of my favourite photos that I took about 4 years ago with a small compact flash camera was of a small quantity of frogspawn. The image was taken close to and blown up to A4. Far from being off-putting, it was quite beautiful, each egg glistening in the damp night and with a fluid appearance as if it were covered in mercury. I've taken quite a lot of froggy photos since then but never managed to get a shot that I liked quite as much as that.
On the subject of the eggs, I'm looking forward to watching how they develop. It's fascinating to watch the tadpoles developing once they've hatched, but I've never studied the egg development in close detail. Looking at macro (close-up) shots of eggs laid at difference times during the last 2 or 3 days, the difference in their developmental stages becomes apparent. Tomorrow I'll take a small amount of recent spawn and leave it at one side so I can take macro shots on a daily basis - or maybe several times a day. It will be interesting to note and watch their development and re-search the subject a bit more.
As a child, I grew up in a house with a large back garden that had a pond and it was normal for me to see frogs and watch the different types of pond life. In fact I have a vivid memory of my father removing a large water beetle from the throat of a goldfish using a pair of tweezers. The goldfish had obviously bitten off more than it could swallow! My own children, too, have grown up with a garden pond and it's only in the last few years that it's occurred to me that there must be many children who've never seen a frog, let along touched one!
A couple of years ago I was helping with some Reception class children on a local farm* that does educational visits. The sheer delight of the children at turning over a log and finding a frog was amazing. It was even better when - right on cue - we turned over another log next to it and found a toad! We couldn't have arranged it better if we'd tried and it demonstrated the difference between a frog and a toad far better than any classroom text book. The children couldn't have been more excited if they'd gone on safari to the Serengeti. Quite simply, they thought it was fantastic!
Weather: a beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine - but a chilly wind. The temperature in the shade was only 8 degrees, but in the sun - and out of the wind - it felt much warmer.
Suddenly, during the last couple of days, green tips have started to appear on bushes and trees and the tete-a-tete daffodils are already in flower. It feels like we are well on our way to spring. But wait! The forecast tonight is for a rotten week ahead with snow more than likely at some stage during the week.
* http://www.cronkshaw.co.uk/
Ttfn :o)
Although the numbers were down (around fifty frogs instead of an expected 60), I'm pleased to say I haven't found any dead frogs in the pond like other people have reported. Spawn has been laid in great quantities and the frogs have disappeared from the pond once more until next year. And yes! I do a head count - several actually. Little things just won't sit still!
I did eventually managed to take some photographs. The best way is at night with our outside light on - and using the flash on my camera. The frogs don't seem to mind my presence quite as much as when I try it during the day - I think the light shining on the pond helps camouflage me. Any skittish ones that dive for cover usually re-appear within a few minutes and don't seem to mind me after that. Neither do they seem bothered by the camera's flash. There's always a few obliging frogs that seem particularly unphased by my presence and seems at times to almost be posing!
One of my favourite photos that I took about 4 years ago with a small compact flash camera was of a small quantity of frogspawn. The image was taken close to and blown up to A4. Far from being off-putting, it was quite beautiful, each egg glistening in the damp night and with a fluid appearance as if it were covered in mercury. I've taken quite a lot of froggy photos since then but never managed to get a shot that I liked quite as much as that.
On the subject of the eggs, I'm looking forward to watching how they develop. It's fascinating to watch the tadpoles developing once they've hatched, but I've never studied the egg development in close detail. Looking at macro (close-up) shots of eggs laid at difference times during the last 2 or 3 days, the difference in their developmental stages becomes apparent. Tomorrow I'll take a small amount of recent spawn and leave it at one side so I can take macro shots on a daily basis - or maybe several times a day. It will be interesting to note and watch their development and re-search the subject a bit more.
As a child, I grew up in a house with a large back garden that had a pond and it was normal for me to see frogs and watch the different types of pond life. In fact I have a vivid memory of my father removing a large water beetle from the throat of a goldfish using a pair of tweezers. The goldfish had obviously bitten off more than it could swallow! My own children, too, have grown up with a garden pond and it's only in the last few years that it's occurred to me that there must be many children who've never seen a frog, let along touched one!
A couple of years ago I was helping with some Reception class children on a local farm* that does educational visits. The sheer delight of the children at turning over a log and finding a frog was amazing. It was even better when - right on cue - we turned over another log next to it and found a toad! We couldn't have arranged it better if we'd tried and it demonstrated the difference between a frog and a toad far better than any classroom text book. The children couldn't have been more excited if they'd gone on safari to the Serengeti. Quite simply, they thought it was fantastic!
Weather: a beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine - but a chilly wind. The temperature in the shade was only 8 degrees, but in the sun - and out of the wind - it felt much warmer.
Suddenly, during the last couple of days, green tips have started to appear on bushes and trees and the tete-a-tete daffodils are already in flower. It feels like we are well on our way to spring. But wait! The forecast tonight is for a rotten week ahead with snow more than likely at some stage during the week.
* http://www.cronkshaw.co.uk/
Ttfn :o)
Thursday 25 March 2010
Just a thought ... water temperature?
Although I've been recording the air temperature on my garden thermometer (which, from my observations, is a big factor in when the frogs return to the pond) I've never thought to check the water temperature. I'll start doing this, though I can't imagine it changing much from day to day.
But I could be wrong!
Ttfn
A :o)
But I could be wrong!
Ttfn
A :o)
More males than females ?
Morning!
I finally managed to replace our outside light yesterday. We are now minus a large bush which had to be chopped down for us to get the ladder up against the wall. It was too big, anyway! Did I say 'us'? I meant 'Me' - husband had no part in it and anyway was too busy working hard to pay for all the birdseed we get through! Anyway, with a new bulb fitted at last, I could take a ring-side seat last night with a cup of tea and watch the show from my patio door. There was a lot of froggy activity and much croaking though they are still quite skittish about me going closer so I didn't get much in the way of photographs.
Several more clumps of frogspawn arrived during the night. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there's a collective noun for a 'clump' of frogspawn???
Within the pond there are several groups of 3 frogs - 2 males clasped tightly around 1 female. Does this suggest a lack of females, I wonder? Or perhaps this is a better way for nature to ensure a continuation of the species: with a ratio of 2 males to 1 female, the eggs are almost guaranteed to be fertilized.
I see there are several single frogs still not paired up but I don't know if these are males or females.
It was interesting to read the article about the use of the pesticide, Atrazine, mentioned in one of my earlier posts. http://frogblog2010.blogspot.com/2010/03/common-pesticide-identified-as-major.html The apparently world-wide use of this pesticide can reduce the testosterone in male frogs, changing them into females. They can then mate with male frogs and produce eggs, but because they are still genetically male all their resulting offspring are males. M + M = M. I need to read the article again and the response by the company that produces it.
Mild and damp again. Temp at 10am is
Ttfn A :o)
I finally managed to replace our outside light yesterday. We are now minus a large bush which had to be chopped down for us to get the ladder up against the wall. It was too big, anyway! Did I say 'us'? I meant 'Me' - husband had no part in it and anyway was too busy working hard to pay for all the birdseed we get through! Anyway, with a new bulb fitted at last, I could take a ring-side seat last night with a cup of tea and watch the show from my patio door. There was a lot of froggy activity and much croaking though they are still quite skittish about me going closer so I didn't get much in the way of photographs.
Several more clumps of frogspawn arrived during the night. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there's a collective noun for a 'clump' of frogspawn???
Within the pond there are several groups of 3 frogs - 2 males clasped tightly around 1 female. Does this suggest a lack of females, I wonder? Or perhaps this is a better way for nature to ensure a continuation of the species: with a ratio of 2 males to 1 female, the eggs are almost guaranteed to be fertilized.
I see there are several single frogs still not paired up but I don't know if these are males or females.
It was interesting to read the article about the use of the pesticide, Atrazine, mentioned in one of my earlier posts. http://frogblog2010.blogspot.com/2010/03/common-pesticide-identified-as-major.html The apparently world-wide use of this pesticide can reduce the testosterone in male frogs, changing them into females. They can then mate with male frogs and produce eggs, but because they are still genetically male all their resulting offspring are males. M + M = M. I need to read the article again and the response by the company that produces it.
Mild and damp again. Temp at 10am is
Ttfn A :o)
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