Frogs legs!

Yes, my little tadpoles are growing up.  They've finally sprouted legs, so it won't be long before they get moved outdoors or I'm likely to go into the spare room one day and find they're hopping around the place.

Tadpoles with legs

This one has the longest legs, a couple of others have leg buds but if their speed of growth is as before, there will be several with visible legs by tomorrow.

Day 71 since they were first laid.

Tadpoles - day 65

Not much has been happening over the last few days - they're growing up - filling out and getting larger and longer - not quite on a daily basis.  Although the last few days, they seem to be getting more rounded and around the belly and longer in the body.

Looking a little brutish and starting to get more frog-like.  They get cleaned out and topped up every few days and I've added a couple of snails to keep the tank cleaner.

New posters for the pond

A very chilly day - headed up to the Tye to replace the posters around dewpond, which have got damaged by wind and weather over the last few months.

Telscombe Tye dewpond

There were a few swallow drinking from the pond and skylark singing.  No sign of newts or tadpoles as yet.  Lovely daffodils in the wooded strip going down into Telscombe village.

Daffodils - Telscombe village

Around on the e-piece and there were a few chiffchaff singing, a whitethroat and a blackcap alarm call - heard but not seen.

The area we cleared earlier this year has lots of violet and cowslips coming up in the patches with more grass and cuckoo pint in the areas that were under the thicker areas of scrub.  Unsurprisingly, there are also a lot of nettles coming up.

Nightingales, blackcaps and whitethroat

RSPB Pulborough Reserve - Spring sunshine

A glorious day out on the reserve at RSPB Pulborough.  The promise of sunshine was definitely fulfilled, although it took a while to warm up.

Nightingales were singing everywhere around the reserve for most of the day and singing from trees and bushes, so most people were treated to a good view of them too.  At least eight in various places - around Fattingates and along 'adder alley' and from the Hanger.

Also plenty of whitethroat around - along with chiffchaff and willow warblers.  Very little out on the brooks except for lapwing and a few duck.  A couple of redshank were spotted in the distance but I didn't manage to pick them out.

Willow just outside Winpenny

We took a break out in the sunshine to warm up after the chill at the Hanger.  Two pairs of buzzard were high overhead displaying above the North and South Brooks.

After lunch we popped in to Winpenny where a sedge warbler was feeding up along the edge of the ditch.  We spotted another just off the path, heading back to the North Brooks.  Several brimstone around by Winpenny and the picnic area - or it was the same one going round in circles!

It's a Sedge Warbler

After a tea break, when the Dawn Chorus shift headed off, I took another walk around the reserve.  Yet again I missed a red kite which was spotted low over the reserve just as I was heading back round the loop.  A few sand martin appeared over the North Brooks.  More joined them along with a few swallow.  There was a pair (possibly more) of tufted duck out on one of the far pools.

The nightingales seemed to be taking a break from singing and only heard snatches later in the afternoon.  Walking back via the picnic area - there was a comma basking on the ground a brief glimpse of a small tortoiseshell.  There were more swallow at the West Mead pond along with a pair of gadwall, which I just about managed to pick out against the evening light.

Just as I came up to the reserve I spotted a wheatear sitting on a post - my first in Sussex this year.

Frogspawn - update

Not sure what happened but having been out all day, I returned home to find the tadpoles in the crate had died.  They haven't been growing much since I put them out, although I've been topping the water up and feeding them as before.

Perhaps the warmer outdoor temperature was just too much for them, even though they were in partial shade.

The one's in the trough are fine, occasionally spot a few along the edge.  I put 60 out there a couple of weeks ago.  The same number went into the pond but I can't see any of those at all.

Frogspawn release

With the recent change in temperature - things were warming up a little too much for the indoor tadpoles, so two batches of them have been released back out in the garden.  They weren't quite gasping for air but not far from it.

Some are now in the fishpond - where they started out, although the fish probably think dinner has been served (not too sure how long they'll survive).  More are in a trough which was already filled with water and the rest still in their crate, which is now outside too.

Still have some in the tank - although I've reduced the number down considerably.  They're larger than the others at the moment.  Might be something to do with the water temperature being warmer in a smaller tank and fewer numbers.

Frogspawn - Day 25

Returned from the Easter break to find them in much the same state as when I left - still all alive at least.  Topped up the 'tank' and moved some of them back out to the smaller tank for their daily photo session.

Frogspawn Day 25

They're looking a little more pointed at the front end and moving around a lot more, so getting more difficult to photograph.  Also slightly bigger overall - roughly 2.5cms - about 0.5 cm longer then last week.

They're now being fed a diet of spinach leaves, crumpled up and then laid on top. As they're plant eating at this stage that should keep them going.