Tadpole munchers...

[hedgehugger]

After having herds of tadpoles hatch this year I am now not seeing any!, my pond is very green and I realise they may be lower down but there are usually lots of wrigglers near the surface doing whatever tadpoles do (usually eating )

I have a pair of blackbirds nesting in the garden, and I frequently see them wading in the shallows and I am pretty certain it is these that are eating them.
So I guess my pond is a sloppy table for some young blackbirds
Have also seen the female blackbird taking up wet material (muddy pond plant) presumably for the nest? would that be to 'glue' the nest ?

[aeshna5]

Blackbirds + other birds will take small tadpoles, but it's highly unlikely they have all gone. There may well be other predators in the pond such as newts, dragonfly + water beetle larvae + rats may also enter water and take some.

Despite all these potential munchers I'll be surprised if there aren't still some present.

[Kayleigh]

This is why the have so much spawn..

[hedgehugger]

I know the newts were treating the newly hatching spawn like a local McD's
and my fish are never interested in the fish food we have, but previous years I have had a lot less spawn laid and way more taddies on show. The pond is a lot murkier this year, better for hiding in.
Shall keep me eye out for the little wrigglers

[JV]

wait! do you have fish?
if so then that explains it. The fish ate them. Its not a good idea to keep fishes in a wildlife pond.

[hedgehugger]

Yeah I have fish. The fish have never bothered with the taddies before, not to the detriment of the frogs anyway (pond is about 4 years old now) and have always successfully raised froglets in there I know it isn't impossible for the fish to eat some, but never all.
Still not seeing any taddies, But I do have a newt population explosion!!
This is definitely year of the newt for my pond.