The vast number of eggs laid by a frog is key to the continued success of the species
How to put this delicately? The recent mild weather has precipitated an explosion of amorous amphibians in our pond. Every corner is filled with thrashing frogs, copulating wildly among the irises and water mint.
I admit to being fascinated by the mysterious world of frog mating. The smaller males will tussle with one another in order to attach themselves to the female’s back and cling on for dear life; sometimes for hours, sometimes for days. This is an embrace known in zoology as the amplexus.
I have counted six frogs currently “at it” in our pond. They will have spent the winter hibernating under piles of leaf litter, or some old logs we have placed near to the water for shelter, and come early spring return to the water to breed.
Adult frogs can grow up to 9cm long and possess individual markings of extraordinary colours. I have spotted one male with handsome red stripes on his back and legs. Unsurprisingly, he appears to have his pick of the pond.
A few weeks from now, all being well, a great bloom of frogspawn will rise to the surface. Last year there was such an amount it filled every inch of our admittedly small pond.
Females deposit what are known as “rafts” of frogspawn often containing up to 2,000 eggs. Each is encased in a capsule of jelly, which continues to expand after it is laid.
A few weeks after that, tadpoles will hatch. You can identify frog tadpoles as they are speckled with gold and brown flecks, unlike those of the common toad, which are jet black. Toads also generally require larger ponds in order to breed.
The vast number of eggs laid by a frog is key to the continued success of the species. Tadpoles are predated upon by newts, dragonfly larvae, fish and other pond dwellers. Relatively few will survive the 16 weeks or so it takes for them to grow back legs and become tiny froglets.
When they have fully sprouted their limbs – in mid or even late summer – the froglets leave the pond and head in search of new territories. Frogs are most active at night and can easily roam 500m or so from their home pond.
They are also extraordinary jumpers. I have seen one comfortably clear our 4ft garden wall in one leap.
Unlike common toads, which have suffered steep and worrying declines in recent decades, frogs are faring better in the modern world and remain widespread throughout the country. Key to their success has been the vital habitat that urban ponds provide.
We dug our pond three years ago now. It is only a metre long and half a metre wide, shallow and filled with a few stones and plants. But almost immediately, the frogs sought it out.
Now, they have become a constant presence in our garden, croaking on summer evenings and leaping about the vegetable patch and flower beds, in the process providing a vital service by gobbling up slugs and snails, which comprise their diet.
They say perhaps the single most important thing you can do for wildlife is to dig a garden pond, even a bucket or an old sink in the ground will do. And it is also one of the most gratifying.
But a word of warning, come this time of year, the more squeamish among you may want to steer clear of the pond in order to spare your blushes – some activities are best viewed after the watershed.