I just managed to delete this whole post before posting it, so this is the second attempt (this time I've locked the tab to prevent accidental closure) :doh: Anyway, it's an update on the frogs as promised, and starts on Saturday morning when I went outside to find that at least a couple of our frogs may have lost their sense of direction.
Spawn laid at the side of the pond
With care I managed to lift the spawn (it's unbelievably sticky) and place it in the pond, where it promptly sank! It finally settled just beneath the surface as it began to swell in the water and regain some bouyancy. I'll keep an eye to see whether it survives.
Meanwhile the frogs themselves are very active. I'm never quite sure whether they are guarding the spawn, or just basking and frolicking.
Saturday Night Fever!
The spawn is doing well, and the early signs of cell division are evident.
Frog spawn after two days
We have a very healthy crop of spawn this year (much better than last year), which may be just as well since the predators are already on the prowl.
Newt prowling over frog spawn
Newt attack
Those shots were Saturday night, as was this video of a fox 😀 It was captured with the trail cam and is an edit of about half a dozen 30 second clips. It starts with a local cat, but after that it's all fox. One thing that puzzled me was the fox's brush which is reminiscent of Kinky (the vixen we treated for mange a year or so ago). Having checked back over the few photos I have from this year, I suspect the featured fox is the young – shy – male we've been seeing recently. He also has that distinctive bend at the tip of his brush (see the final section of the video). A family trait? Quite possibly. Anyway, here's the video. It may take a few moments to load. And yes, that is a cat at the start of it…
Direct link
Camera note: the 'land spawn' and mass of frogs were taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens; the newts and macro spawn were taken with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro and EM-140 DG ring flash. The video was taken with a GL80 infra-red trail cam.
Vulpes vulpes
15 Mar 2009I like the way an egg 'magically' appears and disappears in the video! 😀
Words
15 Mar 2009LOL! Well you have to reward the stars somehow 😉
FrogBoots
15 Mar 2009Re the frogs: it looks like a lot of frolicking to me! 😉
The video is just great! :up: It's interesting to see how he takes one piece of food at a time and leaves with it, instead of just "wolfing" it down, as a dog would be more likely to do. Is this characteristic behavior for a fox…or could he be taking it away to share?
gdare
16 Mar 2009They have saved egg for the desert. And I like the appearance of the lolcat at the beginning of video 😀
Flying Red Fox Blog
16 Mar 2009Nice video and photos. 😀 Thats strange that the frogspawn was on the ground….. i have never touched it so i guess its very stivky looking too!
Ukwildlife
16 Mar 2009Great stuff words. The frog pics are great. I don't think they guard there spawn (well I've never read that they do). Nice bit of foxy video, but I'd be worried about the frogs with a cat on the prowl – Ive heard of a neighbours cat systematically catching and killing nearly every frog in a pond and just leaving them on the lawn :yikes: :rolleyes: :awww:
FrogBoots
16 Mar 2009Words
16 Mar 2009FB, very true, though not all cats are hunters as such. But those that are can be a major problem. And sometimes they just look plain silly 😉
Words
16 Mar 2009FB, thanks! The frogs are great right now. Best time of year for them. I suspect the fox is taking food away (possibly cubs nearby, or a mate). They tend not to eat on the spot (well, they do sometimes), but will usually carry it away and cache it for later use.
SittingFox
16 Mar 2009Hmmm, we've had frogspawn laid in very shallow / virtually non-existant water on the edge of the pond for the last two years :confused: Very strange place to leave it.
Great trail cam video! If only cougars were as cooperative… :cat:
Words
16 Mar 2009Neil, I tend to agree that they don't do a good job of guarding (ducking under at the first sign of trouble), but they do tend to congregate and croak away when the light shines on them. I've never quite managed to figure out the behaviour though. The cats are a major threat to the wildlife, but the frogs here are pretty abundant. More of a worry is the decimation of slow worm populations which simply can't get away.
Words
16 Mar 2009Darko, it's interesting to see what goes first. The chicken or the egg 😉
Words
16 Mar 2009Mark, thanks. The spawn was a bit like chewing gum when you get it on your shoe… stretching like mad, and impossible to remove :yuck:
Words
16 Mar 2009Adele, there wasn't a hint of water where that lot landed, but true they will happily use puddles and shallow drains so anything is possible. I was pleased with the trail cam shots. Tried again last night but moisture got on the cover so all the video is blurred/blown out. It may be better when the weather warms up. But at least I now know that he came by at about 03.45.