A tough Spring for frogs despite the appearance of spawn in local ponds

Our common frog is having a tough Spring. 

The extreme cold at the beginning of March trapped many of them under the ice. A lot continued to breathe through their skin, but after several days some died from lack of oxygen.

The survivors then got breeding under way in many ponds, only for another three-day cold snap to halt proceedings.

So it was great to see that there is frog spawn in the ponds at Railway Fields.

A gentle reminder not to remove frog or toad spawn from ponds or try to get spawn for your pond. This is the advice from Froglife, which has a lot of useful advice on pond management and care of amphibians

We do not recommend moving animals or their spawn around because of the threat of unwittingly transferring various diseases and invasive plants. In most parts of the UK, amphibians (particularly common frogs and smooth newts) should find their own way to good quality ponds. It can take two years or more for a pond to colonise so do not be concerned if your pond is not immediately inundated with amphibians. Also, if amphibians don’t arrive of their own accord there may be a reason for this and it may not be appropriate to introduce them artificially.