Kicking off this new thread with pics from my pond tonight ... very mild & light rain, actually went out to put fresh food & water out for Hoggies as I'd read that it was mild enough for them to come out of hibernation ... imagine my surprise to discover these critters
One changed position
Looks to me as if the coupling is male on female ... what do you think!
Didn't have any females last year!
Saw some pics of spawn on FB last night at Lennon Legacy Project on the edge of Dartmoor!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
A few more tadpoles have appeared, again a heavily cropped photo to capture such small creatures, and again the sunlight was about perfect.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
The tadpoles are now venturing away from their sacs and to the edges of the pond, nestling in among the weed.
Lots of wriggling going on. :-)
Still on top of the existing spawn, so I'll just leave them to get on with it.
My bird photos HERE
Our tadpoles seem to have disappeared into a black hole in the pond!
This seems to have been happening every year for the last few years......
I lost most of mine Mike, think it was due to the cold weather & lack of sunlight ... am relocating my little prefabricated pond in which they live in an effort to save the few I have left! Yours, like mine, may have dived down to where it's warmer in the pond!
WendyBartter said:I lost most of mine Mike, think it was due to the cold weather & lack of sunlight ... am relocating my little prefabricated pond in which they live in an effort to save the few I have left! Yours, like mine, may have dived down to where it's warmer in the pond!
I doubt the cold in our instance, the pond has been there almost 20 years, but the strange part is, they all seem to disappear around the same time, within a 24 hour period!
It could be the fish are eating them, and or other predators, I don't know, and never seen any obvious signs of the fish hunting them down....
A few years ago, many, not all, managed to get to the froglet stage.
Plenty of movement here, with Tadpoles showing up all throughout the pond now.!! :-)
Lots of little wrigglers there!
Still have six frogs in my pond (usually) but three decided to sit out on the stony earth behind pond last night
Could only get two in the pond, third one was deep behind a big plant
My 'chatty' Goldfish, always makes eye contact!