the online meeting place for all who love our amphibians and reptiles
Home Page Live Forums Archived Forums Site Search Identify Record Donate Projects Links
Forum Home Forum Home > General > UK Reptiles and Amphibians
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Spawnwatch 2016
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Spawnwatch 2016

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123
Author
Message
Caleb View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 660
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Caleb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Mar 2016 at 10:19am
One clump here in Gateshead yesterday, a couple of days later than last year.

This year's "Nature's Calendar" interactive frogspawn map is at:
Back to Top
Liz Heard View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Location: South West
Status: Offline
Points: 1429
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Mar 2016 at 7:32pm
Thanks Caleb.

You encouraged us to use this last year didn't you? Sorry, i mean't to look before but didn't get around to it.
Will take a look.
Back to Top
Ben W View Drop Down
Member
Member


Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Location: Midlands
Status: Offline
Points: 23
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ben W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Mar 2016 at 7:48pm
Here in Derby my first spawn appeared overnight 29/2 -1/3 much more has appeared since then. usually the pond is a mass of croaking males several days prior but this year I have seen very few frogs just spawn.
Back to Top
Liz Heard View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Location: South West
Status: Offline
Points: 1429
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Liz Heard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Mar 2016 at 8:45pm
Well done Ben, thanks for reporting from Derbyshire. Most of us regular posters live in the south, so good to hear of your's and Calebs upcountry finds.

There i was earlier confidently stating that all the spawnings at a site usually take place overnight (R.temporaria= here today, gone tomorra, i believe), but as if purposefully trying to mock me, this year, a good number of locations (including my own ponds) i've returned to, seem to have bucked 'tradition' with much more staggered egg-laying, over days or even weeks.   
Maybe confused females owing to the wildly fluctuating weather/temps are the reason?

So anyway, here's an (in situ) example. Bude Canal again, nearly a month later.

I'm no photographer, but anyone can have an idea they can't effectively execute!
I tried to replicate the dark/light contrast of an individual frog egg with the spot lighting:




Caleb - have joined and submitted an observation to Nature's Calendar.

cheers all
Ben
Back to Top
will View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Feb 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1830
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote will Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 7:12am
Hi Ben, I like the idea of the 'eggs within the egg' I'm sure you are right about the staggered spawning - the fortnight of cold weather has forced them to hunker down and cross their legs. I have had no spawn yet in my pond in Herts, presumably because they didn't get their act together in mid Feb before the cold snap, but there are dozens of pairs at the pond now, so I'm looking forward to an explosion of spawn over the next few days!
Back to Top
Caleb View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Status: Offline
Points: 660
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Caleb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 11:25am
'Staggered' spawning seems to be normal for the pond I posted a photo of above- here's a graph of (approximate) cumulative spawn count vs day of the year for the last few years:
Maybe the relatively low counts at this pond make a little bit of extra spawn more noticeable?


Back to Top
will View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 27 Feb 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1830
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote will Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 6:36pm
Nice graph - Chris Packham would love that! Clap  mine would be two humps last year I think - a first small spawning, then cold weather, then the bulk of it around 2 weeks later.
Back to Top
Suzy View Drop Down
Senior Member
Senior Member


Joined: 06 Apr 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 1447
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 7:37pm
Is the variation in spawning dates a way that ensures some will make it successfully? It would seem that later dates would be more viable as it would likely be warmer (still frost possible but not so severe). What advantages would the early clumps get? Do females that were from early clumps tend to lay early themselves?
Or as others say, just a case of all ready to lay but crossing their legs and waiting for a mild night.
My spawn in an unheated greenhouse is at the stage of breaking away from the jelly at any time - some wriggling going on. Soon be time to get it outside in shallow troughs.
Saw my neighbour today, where I've got spawn from other years and he still hasn't had any.
I've got frogs in the pond still, so may get some more spawn yet.
Suz
Back to Top
Iowarth View Drop Down
Admin Group
Admin Group
Avatar

Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Status: Offline
Points: 743
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Iowarth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Mar 2016 at 3:47pm
Oweing to computer problems I was unable to record my first spawn clump in the garden when it occurred - 23rd February. Interestingly it was in the one pond of three never before used. It has now been joined by another 13 clumps all in the same small pond - none in any of the others!

The number is very pleasing as we lost most of our frog population some years back due to red-leg. One pair survived and kept spawning for two-three years after  that. We then increased by one clump a year topping out at 7 clumps last year - so this year has doubled that! Perhaps we will soon start seeing more grass snakes as a result. Been very few and far between in recent years.

Additionally I was doing a bit of clearance in the main pond today and have found two  healthy strings of toad spawn - prbably from a wet night two or three nights ago. Probably more there but tricky to see in a large(by garden standards!) pond. Plenty of smooth and palmate newts around but eggs not seen.

Chris
Chris Davis, Site Administrator

Co-ordinator, Sand Lizard Captive Breeding Programme (RETIRED)
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <123
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 11.06
Copyright ©2001-2016 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 2.141 seconds.