Tuesday, 16 September 2008

Here's the frog but where is the water

Another slimy animal to post about. But this new animal, unlike the snails I wrote about on Friday doesn't leave holes in dad's lettuce or make a horribly unmistakable crunching noise when accidently stood on in the dark. In fact these creatures don't make a great deal of noise. But who am I? A slug? Of course not. A Common Frog. But not any old frog. A frog which was, unusually found no where near water.

We were just clearing the long grass near the fence when a large frog jumped out of the overgrowth onto a low wall nearby. It was clearly aware of our presence and froze there. It stayed there for a while which allowed me to take a few pictures of it. After that, we let it hop away back into the grass. We certainly decided not to cut the long grass any more for the time being.

So the question is, what was actually doing there. Well, we have seen frogs in similar environments in other parts of the garden too. But again, not a pond in sight (although I intend to get one soon). It must have come from a pond or stream but I can't think of anywhere nearby where there is one. I am definately not an expert on frogs and other amphibians, and I still have a lot to learn, but I do know that frogs' eggs are laid in water and float. So where on earth has this one come from?

Maybe it made the dangerous voyage accross the railway line from a pond, or hopped miles from the nearest little stream. I simply didn't know. I thought and thought and thought until every brain cell was worn out. I came up with only one more idea. It could have come from the sewers, or drainpipes somewhere.

Let the pictures make up your mind!

4 comments:

Shirley said...

Hi again Joe :-)

Great to see a frog in your garden too. I only saw ours a few times during my pond watch and big brother never made an appearance!

I would take a guess that your frog was perhaps taking shelter in your garden. I believe long grass is a popular place for them. You could perhaps pile up some rocks and make a few caves for it too if you wanted to encourage it to visit.

I am certain you will enjoy your new pond when you make it. A camera nestbox too - your garden will be the place to watch for wildlife :-D

Joe said...

Hi Shirl,

Thanks for the comment. I was both surprised and pleased to see it hop out of the long grass. I sent you an email about your pondwatch.

I think it was taking shelter. It might be messy, but it is good for wildlife! Yes nice idea for the caves. I might add it to my overgrown patch.

Yes I am hoping that a camera nestbox will be a new addition to our garden. We had a pair of Blue tits, and a pair of Great tits in 2 different nestboxes this year so I am hopeful for next spring.

Thanks again
Joe

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Toads live in our garden. During the mating season they migrate to a small holding pond that is a half block away from our house to mate. I love to hear them sining during that time. At other times they are around here eating snails and other bugs. They are great to have in the garden. They burrow into the mulch to stay cool and moist.

Your frog probably does much of the same. Is there a ditch or a vernal pool near you? Maybe that is what it uses for mating.

Barbara said...

What an interesting blog I found here through shirl's mentioning in her last post. And with "envy" I admire your frog which you have in your garden. Our pond is actually missing one (there are too many cats in the neighbourhood who like them to chase away). Perhaps next year...