A series following the 72 British mini-seasons of Nature’s Calendar by Kiera Chapman, Lulah Ellender, Rowan Jaines and Rebecca Warren. 

Dear Readers, this afternoon saw me standing in the garden, with the rain pouring down, and camera at the ready. Was there any frogspawn? Not a jot, but there was a small gathering of male frogs, some floating free, some hiding in the folds of the pond lining. In my pond, the males hibernate in the pond over the winter, and  emerge when the daylength and temperature combine to say ‘spring!’. Sadly, frogs can be caught out by a cold spell – a few years ago lots of frogspawn was laid and then the pond froze. I tried to lessen the worst of the damage by putting various bowls and buckets over the frogspawn that was projecting above the surface, and fortunately frogs lay enough eggs for there to be some survivors even in the worst of circumstances.

Female frogs emerge from hibernation a little later, though someone on my road in East Finchley spotted a female with a male riding on her back as early as 10th February. If the males can find a mate they will hang on for dear life, and indeed they seem to have been trying to mate with both female frogs and other more unsuitable mates for millions of years. And indeed, in previous years I have seen a female sitting on a stone at the edge of the pond, regarding all the little eager froggy faces in the water with an understandable amount of trepidation.

Not today though! All the frogs that I saw appear to be unpartnered, and from their small size and neat waistlines I suspect that they are all boys.

Apparently the females find their way back to their natal pond by a combination of smell (apparently the algae in each pond gives off a very distinctive whiff) and the sound of the males croaking. No croaking so far, but no doubt it will soon reach a crescendo. The males have a white throat patch, and the sound of frogs ‘singing’ is always the sign that spring is finally underway. Give it a week or so and we should be in full swing.

A male frog from 2022

When I do finally get some frogspawn, I intend to report it at the Pondnet Spawn Survey, which is being run by the Freshwater Habitats Trust. The aim is to learn more about the behaviour and location of frogs and toads in the UK – it would be interesting to see if spawning is taking place earlier in the year (much as many plants are flowering earlier), and exactly where frogs and toads are breeding. I love a bit of citizen science, and it’s amazing how much information can be gleaned, so do give it a go if you’re in the UK and you are lucky enough to spot some spawn.

And I just realised that I have never posted a frog poem, so here we go. This is by Hilaire Belloc (1870 – 1953) and I could not agree more. Plus I used to keep frogs as pets (it’s a long story) so I feel that he is addressing me personally. See what you think!

The Frog (1896)

Be kind and tender to the Frog,
And do not call him names,
As ‘Slimy skin,’ or ‘Polly-wog,’
Or likewise ‘Ugly James,’
Or ‘Gape-a-grin,’ or ‘Toad-gone-wrong,’
Or ‘Billy Bandy-knees’:
The Frog is justly sensitive
To epithets like these.
No animal will more repay
A treatment kind and fair;
At least so lonely people say
Who keep a frog (and, by the way,
They are extremely rare).

Singing male frog from 2022