Common Toads at Glencryan Woods, North Lanarkshire, were so impressed with a new pond dug by Froglife that they decided that they simply couldn’t wait until next spring to breed in it.
 |
| Common toads in the new pond in North Lanarkshire |
The pond dug as part of the North Lanarkshire Living Water project had only been created in mid May and Froglife staff had resigned themselves to waiting till next spring before seeing any real amphibian action in the pond. However, the toads had different ideas and their characteristic spawn strings suddenly appeared in the pond in July!
Living Water Field Worker Iain Maclean describes his surprise and delight at finding the spawn. “This is a very uncommon occurrence as the breeding season for toads generally ends in April," said Iain. "Why the toads suddenly spawned is a bit of a mystery. However, despite being newly created, the pond offers ideal conditions for toad tadpoles as the water is warm and invertebrate predators have yet to colonise the pond.”
Living Water Field Worker Iain Maclean describes his surprise and delight at finding the spawn. “This is a very uncommon occurrence as the breeding season for toads generally ends in April," said Iain. "Why the toads suddenly spawned is a bit of a mystery. However, despite being newly created, the pond offers ideal conditions for toad tadpoles as the water is warm and invertebrate predators have yet to colonise the pond.”
With more pond creation planned for the coming months, there will be plenty of opportunities for willing volunteers to help toads and get their hands dirty. All upcoming events are advertised on Froglife’s website and if you want to find out a bit more, or register your interest, you can email Iain.Maclean@froglife.org
Photo: Rob Williams
No comments:
Post a Comment