Toads, frogs and newts

At this time of year we're doing a lot of tidying up, clearing dead stuff, cutting back bushes that have grown like crazy this year. We also rotate the 3 compost bins.

We have 3 large compost bays about 3ft square surrounded by moveable wooden boards. All the cuttings, lawn mowings, vegetable peelings, small apple fallers.... get piled into the empty bay during the year. Then that gets turned over and left to do it's thing and then when it's ready it goes on the vegetable beds, used for potting up things and so on. It's really good stuff.

More in this article on composting earlier in the year >>

On Sunday Paul was digging out the remains of the "done" bay to spread over the veg beds and discovered an enormous toad, about 4 ins long. Toad was rather annoyed, he (or she) had settled down in a nice warm spot for the winter. So we very gently lifted him out and placed him at the base of an old plum tree where we've seen toads before. There are holes going down into the roots and he didn't take long to crawl in and be completely hidden. We put a small pile of compost over the hole to give a bit more shelter and warmth for the winter.

When we first arrived here in June 2006 there were frogs and toads all over. There was ivy growing up the walls of the house and Russian vine over the back fence and shed which all trapped moisture and provided hidey-holes for all sorts of creatures amongst the living and dead vegetation. We'd come down in the morning to find slugs, big ones, in the middle of the kitchen floor and silvery trails all over the living room carpet. Opening the back door at night you'd have to be quick and careful to prevent little frogs jumping in.

There was a particularly big ivy growing at the back of the house, 2ft thick, and when we chopped it down we discovered several large black toads living in it.

Each Spring the air was full of mating calls of frogs and subsequently there would be big clumps of frogspawn in the the pond. Small brown newts lived in the rather damp boiler house and there were often toads over-wintering in the soil in the greenhouse.

Things do seem to have changed. We still have little frogs jumping around in the long grass up by the orchard and last week I disturbed a couple of newts and a tiny frog while weeding the front garden. There are toads under the pile of logs and timber by the hedge.

But for the last couple of springs we haven't had the problem of driving down the road through a moving carpet of amphibians as we did when we first came here, frogs and toads migrating to their breeding ponds. It's not called FROG-garts Cottage for nothing!

Maybe we've been too tidy in the garden. Also one of our neighbours did a lot of landscaping work and cleared bushes and trees from an established pond, and another has done some rearranging of the ponds and waterways at the bottom of his garden. But it's still very much a rural area with a lot of wild life.

Here's a BBC article about declining toad numbers "Toad numbers fall by two-thirds in 30 years".
The article doesn't have an answer, just highlights the issue. It's based on this research article >>

In our small patch we do our best by leaving quite a lot of wild space around the edges. We have old established hawthorn hedges and are surrounded by a field grazed by cattle. We don't use pesticides and only occasional weedkillers on pathways well away from the pond.

However, amphibian health will be on top of the agenda this coming year.

Frogs-spawn

There's a clump of frogs-spawn in the bottom level of the fountain. There's none in the pond yet. I haven't heard the frogs croaking this year though, but obviously things are happening. At the weekend I disturbed a few frogs in the orchard and when clearing the raspberries so hopefully the frog population is getting back again. When we first came here there were frogs everywhere and large black toads living in the ivy. But over the last few years there haven't been so many. A few more newts though. I guess clearing the ivy and Russian vine which were choking the house and damaging the render means there isn't so much living space for the frogs. And with the damp around the house (now mostly cleared), there were slugs everywhere, which I suppose provided frog and toad dinner. Looking forward to seeing the tadpoles!

Night life

It's my job to put the rubbish out before turning in for the night. Of course these days it's not just "the bin" but the glass bottles & jars to the glass jars red recycling box, plastic and tins to the other, compostable stuff to the purpose-built green bin with a lid (which the mice have chewed through anyway), bread, pastry and meaty bits thrown onto the lawn for the early birds (and cats and foxes) and the everything else into the actual dustbin.

Thankfully we have security light that comes on as I open the back door. At this time of year, right through to Autumn, I have to be careful where I put my feet to avoid the slugs and snails and the worms which retract with amazing speed into their holes. Last night I nearly squigged a newt which was sitting right on the doorstep.

Haven't yet heard any frogs and only seen one little one out at night. Should be out and doing by now; maybe they've up and went with the very mild weather. When we first moved here there was a lot more vegetation, russian vine and ivy everywhere, and these were home to frogs and big black toads. At night the back yard was hopping and crawling and we had to shut the back door quickly to avoid the critters jumping in!.

Cold end to the year

During the week before Christmas we had severe storms with violent winds. Thankfully only minor damage here but friends further south were flooded out.

The corrugated roof on the lean-to was lifting off with the wind and the rose arch (tubular metal construction which replaced a previous home-made one a couple of years ago) is flattened. Also a section of roofing-felt on the summer house was blown off. So far nothing serious - but the forecasters are promising more wind and storms for the new year.

Yesterday was fine and sunny and this morning is cold and frosty with just a little breeze. Doing a few tidying jobs in the garden:

• Cutting back the old leaves from the hellebores so we can see the flowers - and indeed the little buds are already showing colour.
• Clearing the overgrown reeds from the little pond. I'm always worried about disturbing the hibernating frogs and newts but it has to be done to stop the pond getting smelly.
• Covering the already-emerging rhubarb with compost to protect from the frost.
• Removing the dead leaves from the hostas which are lying on the gravel and getting soggy and messy with all the rain.
• Trimming the climbing roses which seem to have ambitions to reach the sky.
• Having a big bonfire!

Slug update

The record rain during June has brought out the slugs and snails in force and I need not have worried about the shortage of slugs in the early spring. We've seen a few adult frogs too.
Slugs are everywhere, including I suspect around my French Beans, and in the conservatory and kitchen. They can squeeze through tiny spaces and nowhere is safe.  There's all sizes and colours including the leopard slug which apparently only eats dead vegetation (like wood lice) and so are really useful in the compost heap and generally tidying up.

Here's an entertaining video about their sex life from the BBC Springwatch team:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Gastropoda#p00f0tw1

Where have all the slugs gone?

I have a small compost bucket outside the kitchen door where I put out all the peelings, egg-shells, toilet roll middles and any other bits and pieces that will go into our compost system up in the garden. At this time of year, in fact even in the winter unless it's really frosty, when clearing out the scraps last thing at night I expect to meet a whole host of slimey and slithery creatures - slugs and snails of all colours and sizes. I also see toads and frogs who come for a meal of slug or two. (Isn't the food chain wonderful!). But this year there's hardly any slugs, a few snails only. I haven't seen many in the vegetable garden either, although the pak choi have a few holes.
It was a very dry winter, athough mild, so maybe they didn't over-winter well. As a gardener I should be pleased, but I'm concerned about the creatures that rely on these slimey invertebrates for food - hedgehogs, toads, frogs even foxes when pushed. We don't get many hedgehogs here but we usually get loads of frogs and toads (clue in the name of our cottage!). There are very few this year and despite the early courtships (http://froggartscottagegarden.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/spring-has-sprung.html) I haven't seen any spawn in the pond, although a neighbour saw some in the stream a few weeks ago.

Spring has sprung...

or is it teasing again?

It's a lovely day - warm, sunny with a gentle breeze. Crocusses are blooming and the snowdrops are even more glorious.

I heard the cry of buzzards and looked up and saw two of these beautiful birds sailing effortlessly across the sky. Frogs have woken up and are crooning in the pond (well they are croaking what sounds like a gentle love song!).

And I've just seen the first bumblebee of the year!