UKC

Went out for our walk around Geltsdale today and saw millions of frogs and frogspawn, nearly every large puddle and bog near to the track had them in. Very vocal and many frog orgys going on! Anyone else seen this today?

That's interesting - only today I was commenting that the pond is usually 'boiling' with activity at this time of year, but all seems quiet at present. We are south of you.

We don't have any in our pond yet either! I've never seen so many up there before. I counted 11 in one orgy, writhing and flipping all over the place - one in a track rut with hardly any water 

A pond in our local wildlife space was absolutely full of frogs last week. About a couple of hundred, I would guess. Not sure what the local Egyptian restaurant has done to cause offence. 

Not sure if this will work but I took a photo of one who seemed especially pleased with himself:

https://scontent.fbhx2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/159589242_5223584737683993_...

Yes, the annual frenzy began in our pond yesterday evening and has been non-stop today apparently (the endless splashing is enough to distract my wife whose studio office overlooks). Now looks literally half full with frog spawn so although there was a heron gulping down frogs last week for nearly an hour, there's clearly going to be plenty of next generation emerging over the next couple of months. Judging by previous years the adults will have 'gone to ground' again within a couple of days. Hopefully the newts will be out and active again in a few weeks time. Again, they have a fairly discrete phase of activity, pursuing each other through the pond weed then it all settles down again within a week or two.

When I lived in Ireland, I once went out for a walk in the Wicklow mountains and found lots of frogspawn that had been left high and dry on the footpaths when the weather had dried up a bit. I scooped some up in a Tupperware, took it back home, bought a small fish tank, and raised those little critters from spawn to froglet, before heading back to Wicklow and releasing them close to where I'd originally picked them up. I never got a word of thanks. Never again.

I was pleased with myself that I'd got the heron nets out the pond after they'd been weighed down by fallen leaves and had the pond weed grow around them. I had to buy new nets, and fitted them 6 inches above the water. But the stupid frogs got on top anyway. When there were enough of them, 40 or so, the net dipped in the water and they covered it with spawn. I had to cut the dead and dying frogs out of the net wrapped around them. So there's a big hole in it now.

That is one happy frog.