Christmas frogspawn

yellowhammer · #1 (**permalink**) 23-12-2006, 07:01 PM

I've just wandered past my mum's garden pond in Kent and seen a pair of common frogs in amplexus. This year for Christmas it looks like I may be getting... frogspawn!

This is the earliest I've seen it here (previous record was mid-January) & I always think it's a shame - one hard frost and it's all wasted. Has anyone else seen any frog activity this week? Not that anyone's daft enough to be looking. I only noticed it as I was walking up to the garage to fetch the turkey from the freezer!

cheers,

Ian

Wild-Woman · #2 (**permalink**) 23-12-2006, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowhammer

I've just wandered past my mum's garden pond in Kent and seen a pair of common frogs in amplexus. This year for Christmas it looks like I may be getting... frogspawn!

This is the earliest I've seen it here (previous record was mid-January) & I always think it's a shame - one hard frost and it's all wasted. Has anyone else seen any frog activity this week? Not that anyone's daft enough to be looking. I only noticed it as I was walking up to the garage to fetch the turkey from the freezer!

cheers,

Ian

As you know I'm in Kent and we lost our frogspawn to a sudden frost in January. Sad really.Enjoy seeing tadpole 'soup' in the pond.
I suppose the urge to mate must be strongly connected to temperature rather than light.
Someone needs to tell them!

yellowhammer · #3 (**permalink**) 23-12-2006, 07:28 PM

I'll leave that to you - I can't even imagine how that little 'birds & bees' talk will sound!

cheers,

Ian

Wild-Woman · #4 (**permalink**) 23-12-2006, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowhammer

Not that anyone's daft enough to be looking.

Yep-That's me. I'm daft enough.

markho · #5 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 09:24 AM

Just seen frogs in my garden this morning, 6th of Jan . never seen them that early before. I am 14 miles from the centre of London so I know we get mild winters but surely this is Global Warming gone mad. If it happens on a regular basis and we get a cold snap in february I'll have no frogs left in a couple of years time.

Kev Lewis · #6 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markho

Just seen frogs in my garden this morning, 6th of Jan . never seen them that early before. I am 14 miles from the centre of London so I know we get mild winters but surely this is Global Warming gone mad. If it happens on a regular basis and we get a cold snap in february I'll have no frogs left in a couple of years time.

Last week on Anglesey I saw a Kestrel on eggs. The world has gone nuts !

Wild-Woman · #7 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kev Lewis

Last week on Anglesey I saw a Kestrel on eggs. The world has gone nuts !

I've got flowers in my garden STILL in bloom. Yep, nuts indeed. A bit scary too as it's all happening so quickly.

badgerwatcher · #8 (**permalink**) 06-01-2007, 11:26 AM

And I've got flowers on the brambles!
And red valarian, cyclamen, borage, marigolds, irises,daphne, white and pink heather, winter jasmine, violas. Yes I know some of them are winter flowers, I just can't get over how many flowers there are out there.
The daphne is amazing, think it might be odora, I've never seen it before!

Twizzle · #9 (**permalink**) 07-01-2007, 04:03 PM

Hi All

I am in South East Kent and am a member of The Sandwich Bay Bird observatory. We had a Scottish visitor come in the other week end and he commented that the weather was kind of tropical compared with that of Scotland. We explained that the temperature was at least 8 degrees warmer than it should be for the time of year. I am still having to feed my pond fish a little too. By the way things are going we will have snow in June.
I am starting to keep a month by month diary now and keeping it for years to see if anything does change for the better or worse.

Malc

markho · #10 (**permalink**) 08-01-2007, 05:54 PM

Seems to be for the worst. Just watched the excellent Al Gore DVD this weekend. Never realised he was such a harding working environmentalist ( going way back to the 60's) until now. Its very alarming viewing for a Sunday afternoon and does make you wonder , in 30 ys time I'll either be feeding Humming Birds or 20ft underwater.