Brrrr!
Is your spawn frozen?

Yes, the pond has frozen over again this week, so have lost some of the upper layers of spawn that has stayed frozen too long. Still a lot underneath though. This year I have been laying bubblewrap over the spawn at night(and find the frogs hiding underneath it!) and that has helped push the spawn further into the water so it doesn't freeze and keep the ice from not forming so thick. I have also used the floating ball (or rather large rubber ring) which seems to keep some of the pond from not freezing, especially just around the ring and inside. I also go out in the morning throwing buckets of warm water around to help thaw out the pond more quickly.

What surprises me is that when I lay out the bubblewrap at night over the spawn, there are loads of frogs coming out out of the deep part of the pond up to the shallows--like 40 of them. They are still very active and are acting like they have not finished yet. Obviously cold showers doesn't really work for frogs.

On another note--do you think you and I are the only ones who exist now??

My frogs have returned tonight so I am very excited. One female didn't even make it to the pond before the male was on her and she had to carry him on her back all the way across the lawn to the pond. Sonny got a really good photo of them which I will be putting onto my forum. Come and have a look if you want. It's www.the-horsfalls.co.uk/forum
I don't think you are the only ones who exist here now but you can find some of your friends there.

My first frogs of the year spotted Wednesday night (the first unfrozen night). Three in pond (but no "action" going on. Quite alot on roads and footpaths in the area, so hope some of them are heading my way! No spawn yet.

I got my first spawn on Saturday....and then it snowed! I was surprised that they are using a different part of the pond this year- where the watercress (from salad bag) has run riot. Despite snowing on and off, and some of the time having mushy snow lying, a few frogs are still at it. I don't think the bulk of the population have arrived yet, so hopefully they are a bit more likely to have successful broods.

Mayhem in the ponds yesterday and the first clump of spawn appeared.
Had to rescue a few frogs who came to the ponds and couldn't find their way in through the nets (must be new ones as the regulars are adept at it!)
It's colder and snowing today and no sign of any activity.
Sue

It is amazing how robust the spawn and the frogs are as long as they stay under water....

It's all quiet out there now, and the first lot of spawn is getting ready to hatch despite it being still quite cold. The bubblewrap blankets are still by the side of the has frost still threatens. The indoor taddies are growing like mad, and will soon have legs.

Happy croaking !

What do you do with the indoor taddies once they change? Is it too cold to put them outside after all your hard work getting them to that stage?
Alison

I don't know!! I keep changing the water, and they are now munching their way through cooked lettuce. No back legs yet. The weather forcast is for another cold night, and then it warms up at night quite a lot. So hopefully the legs won't get going for another week or two, and I'll cool the water down gradually for about a day or two and then put them in the shallows where it warms up quickly and there are lots of pebbles to hide under. The first lot of spawn is crescent shaped, so I expect will hatch very soon as the weather turns.

The Kingfisher looks like it has been a regular visitor in the afternoons, so I hope there are enough stickelback left to stock up the population!

I had frozen spawn this morning :o(

Sorry to hear that--did you lose much?

Spotted movement in my pond from the kitchen window yesterday, then saw a large head popping out through the floating plant he'd walked over. Think it must be the enormous toad I had around the pond last year. Hope he's got a mate! No sign of anything when I made it outside later. Where are all my frogs?
Big Kid

I wish my frogs would come back now the weather is warmer. There is far less spawn than last year, and I think they ought to be considering producing some more in case the spawn that got frozen does not develop.

Mine have started spawning today, but it is a much depleted frog family. Last year I had 51 frogs back for mating. This year so far I have only 20 at the most. I keep hoping that they are still coming but they have not materialized so far. I also got 21 areas of spawn whereas I guess I might only have a dozen at the most. So far I have 3 with some of them with white dots instead of the black living spawn. I wonder if the white ones mean they are not fertilized.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alisons website

Mine doesn't seem to have suffered too much from the ice, and most is starting to elongate. There are a few dead sticklebacks in the spawn in the shallowest area. I wonder if they ate their way in then froze.

Alison, I don't know how you manage to count them lol! Yesterday was completely manic, so many frogs (I haven't an clue how many!)They were really spooking the fish.
Today it has calmed down at last, only a few in one corner still 'at it'.
I think you are right and the white dots mean the eggs aren't fertilised

Dampflippers, I see dead sticklebacks in the spawn every year. They seem to swim into it and then get stuck (the spines maybe?)

Saw my first frog in the pond yesterday. The other one I saw a few days back was my enormous toad from last year. I hope more come soon. No sign of spawn, but I guess that's only to be expected if I only have one of each species!
Big Kid

Sue today more frogs came and they now number in the 40's so I am not so worried anymore. There are about 13 clumps of spawn, but now they are all joining together it will be impossible to count. It was really nice to see so many back again in the pond. I had a good old natter to them. :)
Big Kid I hope you get some more frogs soon. It is wonderful to see them all.
Alison

Glad to hear the flapping of fervent flippers is getting heard across the rest of the country. Down here the spawn has hatched and doing OK, and the indoor taddies have made their way into the big pond.

So the English Riviera is living up to it's name (mind you, the spawn came two weeks later than last year).

Dampflippers... Watercress from a salad bag??? please explain... Tina

Buy a bag or bunch of watercress from a green grocers or supermarket, and bung in pond!

Don't put too much into the pond as it really does spread so fast. I only put 3 sprigs in last year and ended up taking lots of black binliners full of it out. It is great though as the frogs can spawn in it and hide in it. It is evergreen and stays throughout the winter months. Not growing, but staying constant so when everywhere is bare and cold looking you have a lovely green area over the pond. Also little bugs and pond creatures live on the root system so give plenty of live food for the fish.
Alison

It's also quite good at clearing the water. If you have green water, it may be a sign of too much nutrient in the pond. The watercress will grow fast and use up excess nutrients, and make less available for the algae. (You can take out the excess if it grows too much). It will also give shade to a sunny pond- which will also cut down on algae growth.
It is often used in natural filters (sorry I've forgotten, are they called vegetable filters).