PondLife – David Bradley

Reimagining the Seedballs

I’ve mentioned Seedball a few times previously. The team has very generously sent me samples of their product, which offers a novel way to rewild your garden, or indeed, any outdoor space, without the need to handle thousands of tiny seeds. The balls themselves act as a growth medium within which the seeds for any of dozens wildflowers can be held. You simply scatter the seed balls on your patch and water in.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth nectaring on Red Valerian

In time, the seeds germinate and your patch is converted into a wonderland of wildflowers and almost immediately starts benefiting the local invertebrate community and thence the birds, and the whole garden ecosystem.

Seedball have now teamed up with the British Entomological Society to offer specific packs of Seedballs with wildflower species aimed at attracting particular species of invertebrates. Namely, Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Meadow Grasshopper, and Blue-tailed Damselfly. They’re running a nice competition on their Insta to win some!

How to attract more birds to your garden

TL:DR – Advice on attracting birds to your garden

I was asked to offer some advice on how to attract more birds to the garden. (Here’s my garden tick list, by the way). I wrote a rather long article with lots of detail and added some bird photos of species we’ve seen in ours. I then asked ChatGPT to summarise the article and give me ten bullet points. This is my heavily edited version of the algorithm’s output:

Attracting Birds to Your Garden:

Provide water: Place shallow bowls or birdbaths with clean water at ground level and/or on a stand. Create a wildlife pond and extend it to create spillover area that becomes permanently muddy and diversifies habitat. [As of early 2024, I’ve attempted to create a spillover for our pond]

Offer bird food: Use a variety of feeders and food to attract different bird species. Use feeders designed for specific types of food such as suet and seed balls, Nyjer seeds, mixed seeds, sunflower hearts, peanuts, and dried mealworms. Move the feeders to different parts of your garden every week or so to avoid too much guano and waste accumulating in one place.

Plant native bushes and trees: Bushes that produce berries in winter can provide a food supply for birds such as Blackbirds, Mistle Thrushes, Fieldfares, and Redwings. Ivy flowers and berries can also attract insects and provide food for birds in winter. Bushes and trees also provide shelter and potential nest sites for birds. Create a multi-levelled environment with diverse planting, perhaps terraced, and with lots of nooks and crannies, hiding places, and perching points

Install bird boxes: Place bird boxes fairly high up on posts or trees, with a line of sight from a perching spot opposite and several metres away if possible. Also, look into installing Swift boxes or swift bricks.

Avoid shiny, moving ornaments: Hanging or installing shiny, moving ornaments can startle birds and discourage them from visiting your garden.

Don’t trim or prune too hard: Leaving bushes and trees to grow a little wild and allow wildflowers to bloom, this will encourage insects, which in turn provide food for birds in the form of adults, larvae, and caterpillars. Moreover, don’t be too keen to keep your garden tidy, if you want to see wildlife, it has to be a little wild.

Avoid pesticides and herbicides: There is the potential for harm to birds and their food sources in your garden.

Don’t scatter bread or cooked products: These can be high in sugar and salt and are not suitable for birds. They can also attract rats.

Monitor birds at the feeders and birdbath for signs of illness: If you notice birds looking ill or with lumps on their heads or bodies, remove all feeders, discard uneaten contents, and clean thoroughly. Wait a couple of weeks before putting the feeders out again to allow diseased birds to disperse.

Avoid Astroturf and excessive paving or gravel: Basically, don’t design your garden to limit natural habitats for the wildlife.

At the last count, I’d ticked more than 50 bird species in and above our garden. You can find the more or less complete list here.

Spawn again amphibian

TL:DR – It’s 2023. Once again we had frogs, then frogspawn, and then tadpoles in our garden wildlife pond.

UPDATE: 22nd Feb 2024 – Spawn present in the morning, perhaps been there a day or two, it’s been raining heavily so hadn’t checked since the weekend.

UPDATE: 9th May 2023. Still lots of very active tadpoles but no sign yet of metamorphosis beginning in any of them.

UPDATE: 25th March 2023, lots of tadpoles have now hatched, as of 19th April they are big but not yet showing signs of metamorphosis.

Son reported from our garden pond #PondLife on 11th March 2023 that there were at least a couple of dozen frogs visible in the pond mating and spawning. First dollop of spawn was seen on this date. He counted at least 30 frogs. I got a bit of video of the activity a day later in the rain. I will try and do better if it is dry this evening. The video was done as more of a hasty record of the sound of the frogs croaking.

To provide a little extra information I asked ChatGPT to act as a herpetologist and to tell me more about the Common Frog, Rana temporaria. This is what had to say, mildly edited:

The Common Frog is a type of amphibian, which means that it spends part of its life in water and part of its life on land. In the spring, adult frogs migrate to breeding ponds where they mate and lay eggs, spawning. The tadpoles hatch from the eggs and spend several months in the pond before metamorphosing into juvenile frogs and leaving the water to live on land.

If you have a garden pond, it is possible that you could attract Common Frogs to your garden. These frogs are quite adaptable and can live in a variety of habitats, including garden ponds. They prefer ponds that are relatively shallow (less than 1 metre deep) and that have plenty of vegetation around the edges. This vegetation provides cover for the frogs and their tadpoles, and also provides a food source for the tadpoles.

If you do attract Common Frogs to your garden pond, you may notice that they are quite vocal during the breeding season. Male frogs call to attract females, and the chorus of calling males can be quite loud. You may also notice the presence of tadpoles in your pond during the summer months. These tadpoles are herbivorous and feed on algae and other aquatic vegetation.

It’s important to note that while Common Frogs are a common sight in many British ponds, their populations have declined in some areas due to habitat loss and pollution. If you want to help support Common Frog populations, you can create a garden pond with plenty of vegetation. You can also participate in citizen science projects that monitor frog populations and help researchers better understand these fascinating creatures.

Spawn again – Operation PondLife 2023

UPDATE: 22nd Feb 2024 – Spawn present in the morning, perhaps been there a day or two, it’s been raining heavily so hadn’t checked since the weekend. 40+ frogs in the pond, mating activity still ongoing at the beginning of March, masses of spawn.

I have resculpted the rear edge of the pond to allow it to spill when it is very full and creates a potentially semi-permanent swamp area to increase invertebrate diversity. This was prompted by a chat with a member of our village nature recovery project.

2023: Several frogs active in our garden pond, some of them mating, but no spawn as of 2nd March 2023. UPDATE: 11th March, sudden appearance of spawn and ongoing frog activity, croaking, mating, at least 30 frogs. UPDATE: 11th April. Frog activity down, lots of tadpoles, one batch still very small an older batch looking big-headed and perhaps just about to start sprouting limbs.

I’ve not mentioned our wild garden pond for a while. It’s still thriving with iris, reed, and sedge shoots beginning to show already and it is just late February. Matt often checks on the frogs after dark and reported that there were a pair mating on the night of 26th February, which is a good sign, we might soon be with spawn again. We had spawn on 21st February 2021, but not until 5th March in 2020, nothing in 2019 when I’d only just resurrected the pond.

Just for the record, no fish. This is a wild pond for frogs, water snails, and dragonflies etc. Anything else that turns up by chance will find a home, but I’ve not introduced any creatures other than two species of watersnail from a friend’s wildlife pond.

I asked ChatGPT to act as a herpetologist to explain the lifecycle of the Common Frog:

The Common Frog, Rana temporaria, is a species of amphibian found throughout much of Europe and parts of Asia. Here’s a general overview of its lifecycle:

Egg Stage: The lifecycle of a Common Frog starts when the female lays eggs in water, typically in ponds, lakes or slow-moving streams, usually in the spring. A female can lay up to 4,000 eggs in a single season. The eggs are enclosed in a gelatinous mass that floats on the surface of the water.
Tadpole Stage: After several days, the eggs hatch into tadpoles. Tadpoles are aquatic and breathe through gills. They feed on algae and other small organisms found in the water. During this stage, they develop legs, absorb their tail and undergo metamorphosis.
Metamorphosis Stage: As tadpoles grow, they start to develop legs and eventually lose their tails. They also start to breathe air through their lungs instead of gills, and their digestive system changes to accommodate a more carnivorous diet. This metamorphosis can take several months, depending on the temperature and food availability.
Juvenile Stage: Once the metamorphosis is complete, the young froglets leave the water and begin their life on land. During this stage, they continue to grow and develop, and their diet shifts to insects and other small invertebrates.
Adult Stage: After a few months, the young froglets reach sexual maturity and become adults. They will continue to breed and lay eggs, thus completing the lifecycle.

The entire lifecycle of a Common Frog typically takes around 2-3 years, although it can vary depending on environmental factors such as temperature and food availability.

Operation Pondlife

This is a bit of an update on a series of #PondLife articles I ran when I first resurrected our garden wildlife pond. Here’s how it looks right now. Very different from the nitryl-lined hole in the lawn back in April 2019. The original pond was twice the surface area, but I filled it in not long after we moved here, as we had very small children and it seemed too much of a risk.

Back in the day, we had a relatively large garden wildlife pond, lots of frogs lots of aquatic plants. But, we also had small children, back in the day, and with health and safety rather than nature conservation in mind, I filled in the pond, turfed over the patch and we had some good kickabouts for many a year with the children. The children are grown. It was time to resurrect the pond.

I dug out the old patch to about half the size of the original, created some terraced edges and the like, sharp side for the base, nitryl liner cut to size, filled it with water. I then chatted to village friends who had well-established ponds and acquired some plants – water soldier, flag irises, sedge, barred horsetail, reeds and the like. I even acquired some aquatic snails – the helical type and the spiral (ram’s horn) type. Three summer’s later and it’s well established.

I can usually count at least half a dozen, sometimes more, frogs on the edges of the pond after dark (Son has counted 9 one evening). We’ve had spawn two years running so far and seen tadpoles and then froglets. No newts yet, which is perhaps a saving grace for the frogs. Lots of dragonfly and damselfly larvae last season. Moreover, the garden birds use the pond for bathing and drinking. We even had a chiffchaff (the first in the garden) bathing several evenings on the trot during the warm spell back in April.

There is also an occasional heron that swoops in to take a frog. It’s a wildlife pond. It’s all part of nature’s way. Watching from a garden chair, tipple in hand on the annual balmy summer evening, it’s almost like being in a David Attenborough TV programme. And, speaking of which during the first lockdown, I occasionally did a live broadcast on social media from the pond.

There are plenty of online resources on “how to create a garden pond” with tips on how to make it work for local wildlife, including hedgehogs. A pond can be a simple affair, sunken watertight vessel, such as a Belfast sink or old metal bathtub, a lined dug-out patch like ours, or a bigger watering hole. Small scale it is relatively easy to do and will boost your eco-credentials in the eyes of the local wildlife. Well worth the effort. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the arrival of the first wildebeest any day now…

Spawnography 2022

I did think about hashtagging this post as #SpawnHub but…

As regular Sciencebase readers will know, I re-dug our garden pond in May 2019 (you can read about Operation Sciencebase Pond here, #PondLife). We’ve always seen frogs in the garden even when the pond was filled, but in 2020 there were at least nine using the refreshed pond. Spring of 2021, we had our first spawn in years, noted it on the 5th March, although there may have been some that appeared earlier and sunk.

On 21st February 2022, Matt was in the garden after dark and noticed two pairs of frogs and a dollop of spawn. I took a quick snap of one pair. I know it’s not a big deal, but it is rather gratifying to see new life beginning to emerge thanks to one’s small-scale efforts at wilding a garden. Lot’s or ram’s horn aquatic snails visible in the pond after dark too.

I recommend anyone who has the space (and you don’t need a lot, a Belfast sink or old tin bathtub in a backyard would do) to create a wildlife pond. I am planning my seeding for the garden already having said goodbye to our “digger” in January. I am also hoping to create a sloped edge from the pond that has a slight incline to allow a swamp-type area to develop away from the house. This will provide even greater, smallscape diversity and potentially attract other flora and fauna to the garden. Who knows what might turn up or self-seed.

You can track the nationwide progress of frog spawning here.

Pondlife update – We are with spawn

UPDATE: Even more spawn as of 9th March 2021

As long-time Sciencebase readers will know, I resurrected our garden pond in May 2019 (you can read about Operation Sciencebase Pond here). It was too late for the amphibian mating season that year, but, frogs did appear later that summer. in fact, we usually had at least one frog in the garden even when we didn’t have the pond. In 2020, one summer’s evening I counted nine frogs on the rocky border, which was gratifying and a big part of the whole point of redigging our old pond.

Early this year, Mrs Sciencebase spotted a Grey Heron in the garden, twice, preying on frogs from the pond. But, thankfully, there are still several in there and I’ve observed mating behaviour on a couple of evenings recently. There was activity last night and we are now with spawn. It will be a month or so before tadpoles hatch (hopefully). You just know I will keep you posted. #PondLife #PondWatch

If you have frogspawn in your own pond, please consider adding a reference to this spreadsheet, the data is mapped to show where frogspawn is present across the UK by PondDip and how it emerges over the spawning season.

Natural Highlights of 2020

UPDATE: The news kept getting better and while things are not quite back to normal and never will be, all of those involved are in a much better place than they were at the beginning of October.

It has been a traumatic week an emotional rollercoaster to coin a cliche, you might say. There is a more positive outlook this week than there was this time last week, so I am now doing a little bit of a celebration of life with some of the interesting and intriguing species Mrs Sciencebase and I have seen this year on our rather lockdown-limited excursions.

Short-eared Owl, NT Burwell Fen – January 2020

Pipistrelle Bat day-flying along the edge of Rampton Spinney, February 2020

Female Goosander on The River Tyne near Ryton, March 2020

Longhorn Moths, Rampton Spinney – April 2020

Figure of Eighty moth, Cottenham – May 2020

Ringlet, Snettisham, Norfolk – June 2020

Brassy Longhorn, Cottenham Lode – June 2020

Female Red-footed Falcon, RSPB Fen Drayton – June 2020

Pyramidal Orchid, Les King Wood, Cottenham – June 2020

Spreading Hedge Parsley, Cottenham – July 2020

Silver-washed Fritillary, Hayley Woods, Cambridgeshire – July 2020

Rather blurry shot of a Clouded Yellow at Hayley Woods – August 2020

Hare, Cottenham Allotments – August 2020

Dark Crimson Underwing, Cottenham – August 2020

Little Owl, Les King Wood, Cottenham – August 2020

Clifden Nonpareil, Cottenham – September 2020

Grounded Kestrel, Rampton Spinney – October 2020

First Merveille du Jour of the year - October 2020 — First Merveille du Jour of the year – October 2020

Sciencebase in the time of Covid

Up front: Nothing much has changed for my working practices since the coronavirus pandemic struck and we were all put into varying degrees of lockdown and social distancing. I’ve carried on with regular clients covering science news across a wide range of disciplines for the outlets that have all been mentioned here on numerous occasions over the last 25 years of this website…

As a household, we never did run out of loo roll nor any other essentials despite not stockpiling nor panic buying…

Lockdown did mean more “at home” time, no choir nor band rehearsals, only in-the-house solo music creation and broadcasts and a couple of online collaborations which I’d done often enough in normal times long before the so-called new normal. My Lockdown EP is almost a mini-album now with eight tracks. As for everyone lots of interactions with friends, family, colleagues, and collaborators via video chat servers, which is entertaining enough but tiring on the eyes.

There were lots of garden-based and very local photographic and video opportunities: PondWatch, GardenWatch, even ShedWatch on Facebook and the expansion of Lepidopteral diversity in the garden as the spring turned to summer. Indeed, anything of biological could quickly become a major focus for a blog post and I quickly add photographic specimens to Instagram and Imaging Storm. Then, there’s AllotmentLife to be taken care of…

If you need to drill down into any of this stuff there is a whole category structure within the Sciencebase website that has evolved over the years:

Photography,Â Classic Chords, Chemistry, Social Media etc

PondLife update

Regular Sciencebase readers have probably been wondering what happened to our newly re-dug pond, which I did in April 2019 after a twenty year filled in dry spell. Well, it has thrived and become quite the wildlife haven, attended frequently by garden birds for bathing and drinking. We have at least five frogs (I saw five sitting around the perimeter one evening early in the Covid-19 lockdown). [UPDATE 2022: Matt has been counting frogs most evenings, 19 in and around the pond one night in July]

There are endless aquatic snails now, they multiplied very quickly. Lots of plants, which are also thriving, and lots of invertebrates attracted including Common Blue Damselfly.

We had mimulus in bloom and yellow flag iris, I did mention them previously in an in-post update, and as of today, a solitary lily blossom. Here are a couple of closeups of the lily with invertebrate visitors.

Meanwhile, the wilding of the patch of garden next to the pond I’d attempted, and doubled in size this year by removing turf has worked quite well with lots of Purple Tansy, Viper’s bugloss, Foxflove, Cornflower, Earth Smoke, and various poppies, Purple Toadflax, and a few other nameless wild brassica species and more.

Purple Toadflax – has hosted Toadflax Brocade caterpillar in 2019 and 2022

Finally, the common corncockle (Agrostemma githago) has grown and bloomed, I was worried I wouldn’t see any, but there it is, hopefully it will self-seed on this patch, but I will harvest some for next year and for the front garden wild patch too, which is three times the area it was last year. I wrote about it recently but the plant I’d seen in the wild patch was actually Viper’s Bugloss.