Frogs and frogspawn

[Malcolm Banks]

Hi Reino and welcome to WAB. Re frog spotting, after dark is best, with a torch. You may find you hear plops or splashes before you make it to the pond's edge, so all you may see is disturbed water. If you had frogs last summer, there's a good chance they'll be back. To be safe I wouldn't suggest significant intervention wrt weed removal etc just now, but not really sure how much disturbance would dampen their ardour.
Good luck
M

[reino]

That's great Malcolm, thanks for the reply.
Reino

[Malcolm Banks]

On reflection Reino, if your pond overgrowth is in urgent need of clearing, doing some clearing during daytime may not disturb the frogs too much - but as you are probably aware, is important to rinse removed weed or leave in a bucket of rain (or pond) water to allow the beasties to escape. In this respect I guess it is better to do it sooner than later. Although I try and keep my pond weed/plants under some sort of control (around the recommended 65-75% surface coverage in season), I am always worried that eggs of various inverts may be discarded with removed vegetation but work on the basis that almost nothing is perfect in pond matters.

With Posie's soapbox (on another thread) on the importance of location details (don't worry Posie, I agree with you) , I notice you are from Rochdale, my home town! I spent many happy hours on the moors around Rochdale (including Saddleworth Moors). The memories of the sound of skylarks and meadow pippets when walking around Hollingworth Lake in summer will live with me forever.
M

[GFM]

Still none here in Collingham near Leeds, but the frogs are starting to arrive, however tonight (sat) is forecast -6 so that will knock them back again.

[reino]

Hello again Malcolm,
Thanks for your post again but only just read it.
I've just got in from messing about in the pond and did get a bit carried away, eventually clearing quite a lot of overgrown plants and algae out. I've put everything on the stones at the side of the pond so creatures can make their way back into the water. I'm afraid I don't understand the concept of putting the plants in a bucket so the creatures can crawl out....how do they get out of the bucket?
I know that sounds really ignorant of me but I've no idea what I'm doing really.
I had a gardener overhaul my garden last year and asked him to build a wildlife pond for me at the same time. Unfortunately I hadn't done any homework on it so when he sent me to the garden centre for some plants i just picked 5 that I thought looked pretty and he just put them in the pond. The ponds now overgrown, although some of the plants didn't thrive. I think I may have been a bit overzealous today, but I would like to replant again from scratch if possible.
The ponds very small, about 3ft by 4ft, it has two shelves about 1ft deep and I have tried to create a beach area of sorts. I'm afraid I could do with help tho, as to what to get and where to put them in the pond.
Fancy you being from Rochdale too, you wouldn't like it now tho. Hollingworth Lake and the moors still the same obviously. the centre pretty dismal tho!!!
Reino

[posie]

Hello Reino, don't get despondent about your pond, there's lots of help about. Some of the places that sell the water plants will advise you on what you need. With regard to the 'bucket', you tip the creatures gently back into the pond,ie, when you are pretty sure they've come out of the weed, you take the weed out of the bucket, leaving the creatures in the bucket, then lower the bucket into the pond, tilt it on it's side and gently tip them out into the pond.I'm sure someone will come in and leave you a link for a good informative web-site on how to 'do' ponds. Actually, I could do with some help myself, although my pond is well established, I'm sure there's some management I'm not doing, for fear of doing the wrong thing...At the moment I'm at the ''If in doubt, do nothing'' stage.Good Luck with your pond..Posie.

[sbeau66]

still no spawn, but i definately think they know what they are doing, as it was a hard frost again last night, any spawn out there would have been killed off, do they just hang on to it til it warms up or do they absorb it it it gets too late? does anyone know?

[posie]

I don't know the answer to your question about re-absorbtion, but if the frosts continue, the price of spawn will increase almost to the price of gold on the 'world' or rather 'GB' market.

[reino]

Thanks Posie,
I was up early this morning to weigh things up again and to tidy up the edges as some of the large stones had fallen into the pond, but I was greeted by 1in thick ice!
Isn't it annoying when you're all geared up and end up not being able to anything?
At least I've got another week now to swot up on what I need!!
Reino

[Naturenutz]

Hi folks,just had a look in my pond and saw two paired up frogs,only things is its a small pond in the shade and its frozen over.Should i break a pocket in the ice or leave them be ?