Frogs galore in Barn Hill pond as Spring bursts into life

 

 Frogs on Barn Hill pond ©AmandaRose

Local photographer Amanda Rose caught these frogs in noisy action yesterday in Barn Hill pond, Wembley.

Recent restoration work on the pond seems to have worked its magic and there is frogspawn at both ends. According to Amanda the frogs were happily singing, unaware of the heron that held them in its beady gaze.

More photographs and a video  of what Amanda called 'an army of European brown frogs' are available on the Alamy site HERE

 

Frolicking frogs on Barn Hill signal the arrival of Spring

 

 

I was so glad that I ignored the wind and the rain and popped up Barn Hill this morning. I was rewarded with a mesmerising view of spawning in progress  on Barn Hill pond.  The pond was quite low last year but filled up over winter and there was more spawn than I have seen for a very long time.

Nature carries on despite the pandemic - frogspawn spotted

 I spotted this frogspawn earlier this week when walking in Fryent Country Park.  It is the first I have seen in the park this year and it is a little later than usual. It came after the few days of warmer weather when the presence of herons in the park indicated amphibian activity. 

This was in the pond at the Kingsbury end of the park close to the Gaderbrook.  The ponds are pretty full at the moment, although past the peak when they were overflowing in the meadows and a contrast to the period last year when many (including this one) were completely dried up.

 

Toadspawn can also be found in the park and is laid in long 'necklaces' while newts attach their eggs singly on vegetation in the ponds.