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I have a large pile of sand covered in a tarpaulin, it is a magnet for toads. Last year I put a toad through the cement mixer by mistake, it was quite spooky to see the path I’d just laid move ( I washed it off, checked all it’s legs were OK and it happily mooched off).
This year I wasn’t going the make the same mistake so I checked each shovel full carefully. I did find a young toad and was unsure where to put it where it could hibernate safely. A search around the place turned up some old ridge tiles and some terracotta pipes. I found a quiet, damp corner, filled the tiles with damp sand and left the toad to burrow into it.
Later I went back to see if it had burrowed into the sand and found a much larger toad checking the Hibernaculum out.
Build it and they will come.
What a brilliant idea. My knowledge of frogs and toads is seriously limited but two frogs appear in my yard every summer. I don't know why as there is no water feature etc. there - or in my garden, or in the gardens either side of me. So, question:- do you have to keep re-dampening the sand?
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
The sand is directly on the soil and is in a damp area of the garden so it should remain damp (hopefully).
Thanks WF - I will have a look around our garden and see if I can find a suitable place for a similar as I wonder if "my" frogs come in to shelter from the heat (they are always tucked in behind tubs).
Great posts everyone glad to see you're thinking about all the creatures that visit our gardens for food and shelter. The idea of using sand in the drain pipes at the bottom of the hibernaculum is great - 20/10 marks for that one!! They say plagiarism is the best form of flattery so I hope you don't mind me suggesting that to others as a must have feature if they are going to cater for amphibians (you see I wished I'd thought of that :o) ) ! Of course we are all managing our gardens properly I hope anyway? If we are then the way we do so will incidently provide the features of a wildlife stack as part of that management. Having a wildlife stack is great though because they help focus our attention on one thing that is easily visible allowing us a unique insight into the lives of those creatures using it (as in the picture of the toad in this thread). Plus its a good focal feature of the garden that will generate interesting discussion - this thread bears evidence to that! They also raise awareness to others less informed as yoursleves on the value of deadwood and other nooks and crannies for our wildlife. We have just produced a new Homes for Wildlife PDF on how to make a wildlife stack - it is one of the top five things we are asking people to do this winter as part of our Feed the Birds Day event. You can find the PDF at the linked web page. There are several other interesting postings started in the forums, by Kezmo, with relevance to this thread, try these: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/forums/p/5237/41309.aspx#41309 and http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hfw/archive/2009/09/24/calling-all-wildlife-gardeners.aspx#comments
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Admittedly I don't have one of those hyberthingmewhatsits but I do put broken terracota pots (you know the ones that are sold as "frost resistent" but only last one winter) around the garden for my frogs. I got the idea when I found one (frogette) sitting under a broken bit of terracota in the "wiild part" of the garden! :)
Regards
Kerry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kezmo6310/
Unknown said: (you know the ones that are sold as "frost resistent" but only last one winter)
(you know the ones that are sold as "frost resistent" but only last one winter)
Ah, but I guess if they resisted one frost they have lived up to the manufacturers claims! And don't start me on that sort of thing. The one that always gets me is "lasts a lifetime". Who's lifetime - mine; the Queen; the bloke who wrote the ad; next door's cat...?
I always take it to mean the lifetime of whatever the thing is that will last a lifetime. Therefore when the thing does, in some way or other, "die" (i.e. stop working) the claim remains perfectly valid but is not worth the paper it is written on when it comes to getting your money back!
Unknown said: Great posts everyone glad to see you're thinking about all the creatures that visit our gardens for food and shelter. The idea of using sand in the drain pipes at the bottom of the hibernaculum is great - 20/10 marks for that one!! They say plagiarism is the best form of flattery so I hope you don't mind me suggesting that to others as a must have feature if they are going to cater for amphibians (you see I wished I'd thought of that :o) ) !
Great posts everyone glad to see you're thinking about all the creatures that visit our gardens for food and shelter. The idea of using sand in the drain pipes at the bottom of the hibernaculum is great - 20/10 marks for that one!! They say plagiarism is the best form of flattery so I hope you don't mind me suggesting that to others as a must have feature if they are going to cater for amphibians (you see I wished I'd thought of that :o) ) !
Copy away, the idea came from the toads themselves and I’m sure they would be delighted with more of them.
The sticks I placed in the higher drainpipes for insects need a bit more work. The Blackbirds have worked out there are insects in there and pull the sticks out to get to the insects. A piece of scrunched up chicken wire in the front should protect them. I’ve spent the last 10 years designing my garden and adding features to attract wildlife so there is plenty of food for the blackbirds.
If I get a chance today I’ll post some photos of other features I’ve added for the wildlife. They all cost me nothing or next to nothing so a large budget is not needed.
Hi again WF - would bamboo canes be as acceptable as sticks? We have quite a lot of those doing nothing. For other parts, I can see we will be going on a scavenger hunt this weekend - visiting friends and rellies solely to have a rummage through their sheds etc.!
Morning Squirrel, bamboo is ideal, I have built an insect house using bamboo myself. The ladybirds love it. I’ll take a photo today and post it, they are very easy to make and so worthwhile.
Here is one I am working on at the moment, it will be finished when the runner beans come down and I have more bamboo.
The box is from a Christmas gift pack and the top is a bit of slate.