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Tadpoles still around

IgrowfromseedIgrowfromseed Posts: 284
in Wildlife gardening
Been doing my twice weekly scooping up of the duck weed and I’m still seeing tadpoles. I only every noticed one patch of frog spawn towards end of March so would expect they are all frogs. Do toads lay smaller amount of spawn that may go unnoticed?

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Toad spawn is laid in strings/lines, so it's looks completely different from frog spawn.
    It's not too unusual for tads to take longer to become froglets/frogs, and they often overwinter as tadpoles, but it's usually in much colder conditions, or at altitude, when the climate isn't so suitable and the length of season is shorter.
     
    They aren't normally 'frogging' properly until late July/early August here most years  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    If you really are worried then try putting a small piece of raw liver in the water. We used to do that when we had a pond. The iodine in the liver is supposed to help them mature.
  • IgrowfromseedIgrowfromseed Posts: 284
    edited July 2021
    Palustris said:
    If you really are worried then try putting a small piece of raw liver in the water. We used to do that when we had a pond. The iodine in the liver is supposed to help them mature.
    I’ve seen them ‘swarming’ around the odd unfortunate snail that’s tumbled into the pond. I’m not worried about them just wondering if there has been more than one ‘litter’? Also was hoping that if they had vacated the pond by now I wouldn’t have to sieve through every piece of pond weed for fear of accidentally capturing one.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd forgotten about the 'liver' thing @Palustris. That would give me the 'dry boak' as we say here  :D
    @Igrowfromseed, if you just leave the duckweed at the edge of the pond for a day or two  it allows anything 'live'  in there to get back into the pond easily, assuming the birds don't nick it first  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Some info. about delayed development here:

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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