Frogspawn in the Office Pond

By | March 22nd, 2018|Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Frogspawn in the Pond

After a false start, when we noticed one clump of unfertilised frog spawn in our pond, we are happy to announce that on the morning of the 17th March we spotted three clumps of newly laid frogspawn.  The first eggs were produced on the 20th of February, just prior to a sudden cold snap.  Whether a female frog had been stressed we don’t know, but despite our careful gathering of the tennis ball-sized clump of spawn and storing it in a goldfish bowl along with some of the pond water and pond weed, the eggs failed to develop.  Our intention was to protect the spawn from the extremely cold weather and then once the snow had melted, to re-introduce the spawn into the pond.

 Frog Spawn in the Office Pond (March 2018)

Frog spawn in the office pond (2018).

Frogspawn 2018, at least three clumps of spawn have been spotted.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Later Than Last Year

The spawning has taken place around a week later than last year.  We suspect the cold weather delayed the onset of breeding.  Hopefully, with the approach of warmer weather (no snow at least), this spawn will be able to develop and soon we will have tadpoles to observe.  The amount of spawn, is about average, we estimate that three females laid eggs.  Although the eggs tend to merge into one, single mat of jelly, if you can observe the egg masses before they swell you can get a reasonable idea of the number of fertile females present.

We Intend to Keep a Close Watch on the Frogspawn

Frog spawn in the office pond (2018).

Frogspawn 2018.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Our pond is a haven for wildlife and we hope that at least some of the tadpoles make it to adulthood.   Common Frogs (Rana temporaria) inhabit our pond, although sadly, these animals like most of the native British amphibians are no longer common.  At least our little pond is helping with conservation efforts.