tadpoles and frogs 2013, a set on Flickr.
This week I became the proud 'foster mother' of froglets. I've been looking after approximately 100 tadpoles this spring after frog spawn was laid in the bird bath. Its taken about 6 months for them to start to develop into frogs but now the first few have the rest are changing quickly.
I couldn't believe it when I first discovered the frog spawn in late January. Its never happened before but for some reason mother frog decided to lay her spawn in the not too suitable place of the bird bath. Its only an old frying pan but it had about an inch of water in it so I suppose she thought it was ok.
Realising that the birds would disturb or possibly eat the spawn I put a ring of chicken wire around the pan. Then all I could do was wait, top up the water when needed, and worry about the frosts that would freeze the water some mornings.
Its been incredible watching them develop; from tiny black dots in the spawn to miniature tadpoles, from huge tadpoles to tiny frogs. Its almost like observing evolution; a species changing in front of my eyes.
Once all the tadpoles had hatched the bird bath really was a totally unsuitable home. The water would cloud up with air bubbles very quickly which didn't seem right.
I separated them into three larger containers, two upturned lids from indoor green houses and a washing up bowl. They had a lot more room and I could change the water much easier too. Again, chicken wire was used to keep the birds away.
The next few months were quite uneventful. The tadpoles grew and developed very slowly. I fed them on goldfish flakes to start with but I wasn't convinced they were eating it and it made the water go cloudy. I also tried boiled iceberg lettuce but in the end I would just drop round lettuce and various leaves from the plants in the garden. They seem to like tulip leaves the best.
As the tadpoles became more like frogs the containers needed to be put into the ground to become more like ponds. That way the tadpoles could start to stretch their legs on land but still have the safety of the water. Once the first container was sunk into the ground it took only 5 minutes for the first froglets to venture onto dry land. It was incredible watching those first froglets experience their new environment.
Since then most of the froglets have left their ponds. I used to spend hours watching the tadpoles swimming around and froglets climbing out, exploring and jumping back in. Now there's a strange lack of activity and very little to see. Hopefully I'll be able to spot a few frogs in the garden, and who knows, maybe there might be some more frog spawn next year.
This week I became the proud 'foster mother' of froglets. I've been looking after approximately 100 tadpoles this spring after frog spawn was laid in the bird bath. Its taken about 6 months for them to start to develop into frogs but now the first few have the rest are changing quickly.
I couldn't believe it when I first discovered the frog spawn in late January. Its never happened before but for some reason mother frog decided to lay her spawn in the not too suitable place of the bird bath. Its only an old frying pan but it had about an inch of water in it so I suppose she thought it was ok.
Realising that the birds would disturb or possibly eat the spawn I put a ring of chicken wire around the pan. Then all I could do was wait, top up the water when needed, and worry about the frosts that would freeze the water some mornings.
Its been incredible watching them develop; from tiny black dots in the spawn to miniature tadpoles, from huge tadpoles to tiny frogs. Its almost like observing evolution; a species changing in front of my eyes.
Once all the tadpoles had hatched the bird bath really was a totally unsuitable home. The water would cloud up with air bubbles very quickly which didn't seem right.
I separated them into three larger containers, two upturned lids from indoor green houses and a washing up bowl. They had a lot more room and I could change the water much easier too. Again, chicken wire was used to keep the birds away.
The next few months were quite uneventful. The tadpoles grew and developed very slowly. I fed them on goldfish flakes to start with but I wasn't convinced they were eating it and it made the water go cloudy. I also tried boiled iceberg lettuce but in the end I would just drop round lettuce and various leaves from the plants in the garden. They seem to like tulip leaves the best.
As the tadpoles became more like frogs the containers needed to be put into the ground to become more like ponds. That way the tadpoles could start to stretch their legs on land but still have the safety of the water. Once the first container was sunk into the ground it took only 5 minutes for the first froglets to venture onto dry land. It was incredible watching those first froglets experience their new environment.
Since then most of the froglets have left their ponds. I used to spend hours watching the tadpoles swimming around and froglets climbing out, exploring and jumping back in. Now there's a strange lack of activity and very little to see. Hopefully I'll be able to spot a few frogs in the garden, and who knows, maybe there might be some more frog spawn next year.
