The 21st brought the onset of Spring being noted as the very first day of the season. So it was lovely to find that the frogs had been busy and left bundles of frog spawn. Some of these had adhered to the protective netting that is used across the top of the pond so these little bundles needed to be extricated and allowed to sink into the depths.
On the 22nd, the day after finding the frog spawn we counted 47 different frogs either in or surrounding the pond. This is the highest number of frogs we have ever recorded.
Yesterday, for the first time ever we found a frog that had become trapped in the net. She presumably had been laying some more eggs as their were large amounts in clusters near to where we found her. She had poked her head through the gap in the net and had both of her front legs in a gap either side of her but she had twisted them so that the netting held her bound. Somehow she had managed to do the same to both of her rear legs and so she was stretched in a crucifix position. We gently cut the netting around her – freeing first her head then her front limbs, followed by her back legs – before placing her gently back into the water. There is now a hole in the netting once more, which is why we replaced the original netting … at least the frogs can plop in and out of it as well as their entrances around the ponds edges.
The Trap
One of the wildest films that I have ever seen is called ‘The Trap.’ It was made in 1966. Beautifully choreographed against the wild and woody landscapes of Canada it both held and captivated me from the very first opening sequence until the credits began to roll. The story is a fresh change from most of the offerings of today. It stars Oliver Reed and Rita Tushingham, who acts as a young mute girl that is taken into the savage world of the wild Canadian trappers. The Radio Times film description.
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6 comments:
Wow, that's a lot of frogs. Glad to hear that the one that was stuck in the netting was safely removed. The poor thing must have been in a panic.
I don't mean to show my ignorance. But what is the netting for?
Hi Grampy, The netting is a precaution that we began using a few years ago when many of the ponds in our area were being visited by local herons. We had seen one hanging about and even landing in one of the near-by trees. Then one morning we went to feed the fish and found several of them were missing. At first we thought they were hiding in the weed but eventually realised that they had been taken and the obvious conclusion was they being bright, orange and easy to spot had been gulped down by one of the herons. So the netting appeared to be the ideal solution. There are many lakes, ponds, rivers and streams for the herons to feed from in our area but like all wild life they always go for the easy option if it's presented to them 'on a platter' if you don't mind the pun.
Hi Ann, It is the first time that I have encountered anything getting caught up in the net and I found it distressing as well as the frog. I am just grateful that we found it and managed to extricate it ... I do so love to see the frogs and they are amazingly tame. In the last few years we have had so many - some appear to be from the same family having a similar shaped head and markings whilst others have been different in their colours and sometimes either smaller or larger - sometimes having slightly more rounder faces. They are all quite fascinating.
Thanks Polly. The Herons are beautiful birds. But you are right they have there place. They don't need to be stealing your fish. Thanks for the info.
yeay...frogs!!!! I look for these in my frog pond every spring...haven't seen any yet this year :( but I always have lots of frogs in the pond!
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