Frog Spawn

[Budgie1]

For the second year running I have had lots of frog spawn in my garden pond and it just disappeared! No sign of any tadpoles. Can anyone hazard a guess (or even an informed answer) of what has happened?

[sunny-dave]

Newts eating it?

That's what happened to my pond - all the frogs are gone, but now I have a thriving colony of newts, which I love :)

[gness]

Often that happens if you have newts in the pond.....one friend lost hers then found a grass snake living in the rocks by the pond....it had eaten the spawn....

[gness]

Much as I love newts, Dave I rehomed mine.....I adore frogs and not a bit of frog spawn this year.... :-(

[Budgie1]

Mmmm. Thanks for tip about newts but I haven't seen any around here. Not of course that it means there aren't any.

I do have one fish that the heron didn't spot last year but he's hardly big enough to eat the masses of spawn that were laid. I know blackbirds will happily pick off the baby frogs once they get old enough to be clamouring about amongst the stones at the edges but they weren't even tadpoles.

Oh well, no doubt the frogs will try again next year.

[gness]

Newt are crafty little devils, Budgie.....they hide and play dead....but I caught them!

[Ratty2E]

Fish, blackbirds, newts and magpies all eat spawn & tadpoles. Tadpole will also eat other tadpoles and magpies even take the adult frogs. It's a wonder any frogs survive at all.

[Budgie1]

Thanks Ratty.

I do have a lot of magpies and crows visiting the garden. They seem the most likely culprits. I never even thought of them although they have been hanging around the pond. Will perhaps have to net it next year as soon as the frogs have had their fun.