Tag: Frogspawn

Posted in nature

Springing Forward

Posted on by BITM

Spring is in full swing now. The Spring equinox has passed, clocks have been changed to welcome in British summer time, april showers often appear (and disappear just as quickly) and the Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) season has begun. It has been a while since my last post and a lot has happened since then.
Back in early march, I noticed lots of frogspawn appear, they have since developed into tadpoles and some now resemble small versions of the adults. Male Smooth newts (also called Common newts- Lissotriton vulgaris) were undertaking courtship displays, swishing their tails to waft pheromones towards the females. The video below shows this courtship display; I managed to capture it back on the 7th of march.


Newt eggs are laid individually wrapped in the foliage of aquatic plants and therefore not as obvious as frogspawn. I haven’t noticed any Efts (young newts) yet though but hopefully I will soon.

Hawthorn (Crataegus) blossom has replaced those of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) now. Plus alongside the flowering Bluebells, many more spring flowers are currently blooming including, Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), Lesser stitchwort (Stellaria graminea) and Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris).

Butterflies are more noticeable these days. Recently I have seen Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus), Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) and Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) butterflies, as well as plenty more Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni).

More bee species have emerged over the past month; even the Leafcutter (Megachilidae) bees from the bee hotel on the allotment. Together with Red tailed bumblebees (Bombus lapidarius), Buff tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), a Common carder bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum), and an Ashy mining bee (Andrena cineraria) I also noticed a Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva)- The latter (shown below) was seen carefully exiting a hole on the side of the Wrekin.

I visited the Wrekin in Shropshire last weekend. A woodland surrounds the base of the hill which is quite a contrast from the more open areas at the top. Here Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), an ancient forest indicator, could be seen blooming alongside ferns and moss. It was lovely to see patches of bluebells while listening to water trickling down the hillside (from the previous nights downpour).

Wood sorrel


At the summit of the igneous bedrock, Common heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) are seen growing. Both plants grow on nutrient poor acidic soil. The Bilberries (also called Whinberry or Wimberry in Shropshire) were flowering but the edible fruit will be ripe in the summer.

Bilberry shrubs in flower.


It was also wonderful to see a couple of Buzzards (Buteo buteo) soaring and hovering around, ignoring us humans that had completed the ascent.

Lastly, since the Spring equinox, I have been watching the Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) at St Albans cathedral on the live webcam here. Once again the pair have three eggs, the same as last year. Currently we are all waiting to see if they all successfully hatch and fledge. It is far more entertaining than any tv drama.

Posted in Allotment, nature

New Life

Posted on by BITM

What a week; variable weather (rain, sun and strong winds), new life (in the form of frogspawn) was evident and the Primroses (Primula) finally began to bloom.

After three weeks, the frogspawn of the Common frog (Rana temporaria) become tadpoles. Initially they eat algae before feeding on leaves, moss and small insects.

From about fourteen weeks they metamorphose from tadpoles into froglets (young frogs). The rate of metamorphosis depends on environmental factors. Tadpoles can delay their transformation, for several months, if there isn’t enough food, there are lots of predators to escape or the weather is too cold (they are also susceptible to frosts). When they become Froglets they start to eat invertebrates such as snails, slugs and flies just as mature frogs do.

Frogs can live between five and ten years (if they manage to avoid being eaten by snakes, owls, herons, otters, badgers and weasels) reaching sexual maturity at two or three years of age. Frogspawn can become food for fish, beetles, newts, dragonfly larvae, rats, foxes and hedgehogs.

I became aware of another trees lifecycle last week, the non-native Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua). This is of my favourite ornamental trees along with Gingko biloba, Magnolia stellata, Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula) and Acers.

Although I noticed this tree last Friday, it really comes into its own during autumn when the leaves produce a brilliant display of crimson, oranges and purples.

I love the first part of it’s name, Liquidambar, named by Carl Linnaeus, who combined the Latin ‘Liquidus’ with the Arabic ‘Ambar’ (for amber); it refers to the gum that the tree exudes when the trunk is wounded.

The mature fruit remain on the trees throughout winter and can be seen as the the leafbuds appear.

Elsewhere last week, the Rhubarb on the plot continued to grow and one of my houseplants, the Small-leafed spiderwort (Tradescantia fluminensis) began to bloom.

I am salivating just looking at this photo; looking forward to harvesting it when ready.
I almost missed these small delicate flowers as they blend in with the leaves. Tradescantia are so easy to look after and propagate.
Posted in nature

Increased Sunshine to Lift the Spirits.

Posted on by BITM

With an increase in sunnier moments last week the more life is seemed to come out to enjoy the sun’s rays. Amidst these strange times I am especially glad I can enjoy nature therapy. In particular seeing Bumblebees flying around makes me smile. Along with several Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), I also saw a Hairy-footed flower bee (Anthophora plumipes) last Wednesday.

A Hairy-footed flower bee visiting Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis).
A Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) pollinating Winter heath (Erica Carnea).

In fact Wednesday was a very productive day for sightings. I saw my first lacewing (Neuroptera) of the season, which was hitching a ride in the van. I also saw a couple of 7-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) amongst some Heuchera. 

Last week was great for counting frogs (Rana temporaria) too. On Wednesday there were seven attempting to remain shaded by a pile of scaffolding boards in a garden attached to a new build development. Consequently the frogs were moved to a quieter area so that access could be gained to the garden. Even on Thursday, as I worked next to a pond, I observed tadpoles emerge; It was fascinating to see the process unfold. I couldn’t count the total number of tadpoles but the pond was full of them as well as frogspawn; as it had been the previous year. Plus I even found a frog on the allotment.

As well as amphibians and insect sightings, further flowers blooming were,
Glory of the snow (Chionodoxa luciliae)

Anemone apennina and

Two-leaf squill, also called Alpine squill (Scilla bifolia)