Frogs disappear as garden ponds fall out of fashion

SIGHTINGS of frogs and toads have fallen due to a declining number of garden ponds.

The amphibians are the most commonly reported wild visitors to gardens apart from birds. But a national survey has found toads are now seen monthly in 20 per cent of gardens, compared with 28 per cent in 2014.

For frogs, the same figure was down from 46 per cent in 2014 to 39 per cent, according to the RSPB’s annual wildlife survey, which also collected data on other wildlife sightings.

Frogs and toads live on land, but need water in which to lay their eggs. Their tadpoles develop in water and use gills to breathe.

Kathy Wormald, of amphibian and reptile charity Froglife, said the animals were losing habitat because of development. However, a bigger problem was the fact that more households pave over their gardens or don’t think the garden is big enough for a pond.

She added: ‘People do not have ponds because they wrongly believe they require a lot of maintenance or their space is not big enough. But a frog would be happy in something as small as an upturned bin lid filled with water.’