Spawning in the pond seemed to end suddenly about a week ago, but there are signs of a resumption now.
One of the local herons.
About a week ago, the pond went very quite and seemed to be almost deserted by the frogs (
Rana temporaria), practically overnight. It was all very reminiscent of a similar event
last year when I put the sudden disappearance down to the attentions of a heron (
Ardea cinerea).
Shallow area of pond protected by netting.
However, I had not seen a heron at the pond this year so I supposed that there might be a more innocent explanation; perhaps a drop in temperature had cooled the frogs' ardour or maybe a sudden end to the frantic communal spawning activity is commonplace. Yesterday though, my neighbour told me that she
had seen a heron at the pond a few days ago, so now I'm wondering again!
Over the last couple of days, I've noticed that there is more activity in the pond again, so taking no chances, I have put a net over the shallow part of the pond where the frogs like to gather most. This, I hope, will give them good protection against the unwelcome attentions of the heron.
