Often with wet-weather, frogs and toads will take the opportunity to lay their spawn in any shallow pool they are able to find. Sometimes, however, this is not the wisest choice and can result in us finding frog spawn in drying puddles. But! There are ways we can move frog spawn to a safer location.
Frogs will begin to appear in ponds from January onwards, typically by March you should bee frogspawn appearing. They will often return to the pond that they were spawned in and you can often find out if you have frogs by listening for the males croaking. Often, spawn is found in well-vegetated, shaded and shallow ponds, you may not see it at first but as the spawn develops it will swell and float to the surface.
Moving to water
One of the biggest issues that often results in spawn dying, is the water quality and temperature that we move it to. We should never put spawn straight from one temperature into water at a different temperature. If you find spawn and need to move it to a new location for its safety, scoop it into a contain and set the container in the new water source to match temperature – after a couple of hours, release the spawn into the pond/stream. remember to take your container home with you afterwards.
Suitable habitat
When finding or wanting to create a prime habitat for frogs and toads to lay, there are a couple of core things we must consider:
- Exits: when tadpoles reach the leg stage, they need an exit. Place some stones at the edge of the pond or stream, or consider adding some floating legs so the developing young can climb clear of the water to breathe.
- Plants: young need spaces to hide as well as plants to eat. Ensure there are suitable plants around the edges or centre of the ponds to support the young life.
- Water quality: young can only survive in moderate quality- to- good quality water. If you’re water quality is poor, add some purifying plants to help encourage a better quality.
- Shade: have a shaded side to your pond, this can be done by placing some floating plants such as water lilies and marsh marigolds that are perfect for frogs.
WildSpace 