Long, powerful legs (great for jumping away from danger), camouflage green and brown colours (perfect for hiding) and super skin they can breathe through – frogs are the James Bond of your garden. Or should that be James Pond? (sorry)
Katie has already swooned over a handsome amphibian on the blog this week, but I think you'll find frogs are also pretty darn smooth. Literally. Their skin is smooth and moist, unlike a toad's, which is warty and bumpy. Check out Froglife's guide for telling frogs and toads apart, which might come in handy when you do your garden count.
Power to the pond!
If you’ve got a pond in your garden, we salute you! A pond helps a whole range of wildlife, from frogs and toads to newts and thirsty birds.
By now, your tadpoles that hatched in February and March will have lost their tails and grown their front and back legs. Look out for little froglets emerging from the water. By the time they’re two or three years old, they’ll be ready to breed.
Even if you don't have a pond, if your neighbour does or you live near shallow water, you could still see frogs in your garden. If there’s water nearby, there are bound to be frogs to see.
Hop it or I'll scream!
If a frog wants to escape a predator, they can try to hop away, but if that doesn't work they can resort to screaming. I can't imagine James Bond screaming in the face of an enemy. But perhaps that would work? It's a good shock tactic, after all... I'm off to write to Daniel Craig (any excuse!).
That's lovely! Lucky you. Don't forget to tell us that officially via Make Your Nature Count: www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount
Small pond in our garden and several little froglets in the grass, this morning.
What is man without the beasts? All things are connected.