Frogs

[RUDD]

On Monday night I went out for a long walk - part of which involved going past a marshy area which adjoins an industrial area that has very bright lights and constant activity 24/7 350 days a year.

Considering it was February I was surprised to see several frogs making their way across a track towards a pond - I put it down to the area maybe being a bit warmer that the surronding country side.

 

Last night I was out on the mountain bike checking out some dykes / drains for signs of fish activity (a place where we once caught Big Rudd and Tench) near the river Deben.

I must of counted over fifty frogs on the concrete section of the sea wall alone.

 

In my garden I have a Clemetis in flower, dafs starting to flower and have spotted alot of Bees.

 

Could this be a sign that spring has come early this year?

 

I ask because yesterday lunchtime when having a walk around a local fishery the three anglers fishing had all caught several Tench of various sizes amoungst their catches.

It would seem even the fish are starting to wake up early!

[kirisute]

On Monday night I went out for a long walk - part of which involved going past a marshy area which adjoins an industrial area that has very bright lights and constant activity 24/7 350 days a year.

Considering it was February I was surprised to see several frogs making their way across a track towards a pond - I put it down to the area maybe being a bit warmer that the surronding country side.

 

Last night I was out on the mountain bike checking out some dykes / drains for signs of fish activity (a place where we once caught Big Rudd and Tench) near the river Deben.

I must of counted over fifty frogs on the concrete section of the sea wall alone.

 

In my garden I have a Clemetis in flower, dafs starting to flower and have spotted alot of Bees.

 

Could this be a sign that spring has come early this year?

 

I ask because yesterday lunchtime when having a walk around a local fishery the three anglers fishing had all caught several Tench of various sizes amoungst their catches.

It would seem even the fish are starting to wake up early!

 

there are toad surveys carried out usually mid March in alot of places; so i dont think its too early at all to be seeing an increase in movements. though to be fair if youve seen 50 frogs all together at the same time id say your a very lucky man!

not seen that many frogs for a very long time..toads yes..frogs no

[Worms]

I was in Cornwall at the weekend and saw three toads....early for them. The end of february isn't particularly early for frogs to be about and, although temperature is a factor, one of the main reasons for exiting hibernation is light levels.

 

Generally in the Marches area frogs and newts are about in february and the toads appear about a fortnight after.

[Emma two]

Our frogs, the ones which populate the garden pond turned up in the middle of February (as they do most years), they are rafting up, starting to pair up and we expect spawn very soon. We counted 20plus on the surface and so there are probably double that around. We fitted anti heron (and cat) mesh over them on sunday, large footprints and droppings revealed their, probably early morning visits.

 

The frogs are croaking like mad too, many natural history books will tell you that our common frog Rana temporia only croaks at breeding time. They are wrong, we hear croaking all through the summer.

Edited March 1, 2012 by Emma two

[davedave]

I saw a frog monday at a fishing pond near me. Plus the ones in our pond have already spawned. However i think the fish have yet to wake up down here in the south, but yet that might be my poor fishing

[Tigger]

I saw a frog monday at a fishing pond near me. Plus the ones in our pond have already spawned. However i think the fish have yet to wake up down here in the south, but yet that might be my poor fishing

 

 

I saw a frog last week but it was a human frog, a friend of ours come over to visit

[Snakehead]

In some parts of the world frogs are used as bait. It's a very gold Snakehead bait.

Is there a difference between our native frogs and the French edible ones?

Edited March 2, 2012 by Snakehead

[Ken L]

In some parts of the world frogs are used as bait. It's a very gold Snakehead bait.

 

Yes, I'll be hoping to find a few next week for murrel fishing - I'll tie the hook to a leg though as whilst I have few qualms about letting their natural predators make minced meat out of them, there's no need to stick hooks in frogs.

[Dales]

Yes, I'll be hoping to find a few next week for murrel fishing - I'll tie the hook to a leg though as whilst I have few qualms about letting their natural predators make minced meat out of them, there's no need to stick hooks in frogs.

 

Ken, have you tried the elastic band around the belly method?Where you then just slide the hook under the band.

[Dave H]

I have not seen any frogs but i have seen some crazy stuff which should not be about. flying birds of prey you are out in the countryside and Mid Feb i saw Bluebells!

Also getting to see buds coming out too. Crazy stuff!