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.