Frogs but no spawn?

[banana]

For the 2nd year running we have had lots of frogs mating quite happily - and noisily! in our pond. Last year was the first time I ever heard frogs croaking in real life.
But despite all the action there was no frogspawn last year and none so far this year.

I have seen 3 big - dead - frogs lying in the garden though. Could this be connected ?Could they be sick ? Or is it the blasted cats that use our garden as a latrine *** playground?

[pmjblue]

You want frog spawn, we got it by the tonne - my husband says he is going to get it out as we were over run by frogs last year, they were all over the garden - i cant let the dogs out at night as they chase the poor little things and try to stamp on them.

I thought frogs had an awful taste and cats, or dogs for that matter wouldnt touch them?

[paddywak]

I must have fished a stone of the stuff out & put it every pond in about 5ml radius. I think every frog in the county comes to breed in my pond

[Thunderbird+]

So far, (and it's getting a bit late now) I 've seen hardly any frogs or spawn in the surrounding countryside, last year was poor also. I did see one dead frog laying upsidedown on the bottom of of one pond, wheather it was the result of red-leg disease, I'm not sure.
The only place I have seen spawn in abundance was in a small pond in a small town park but some interfering idiot had taken it apon themselves to dredge it out and leave it on the grass to die, for some reason.
Toads seem scarce too.

[TommyC]

It's not just you, Banana. I seem to get plenty of frogs mating in my pond every year, but very little frogspawn since our first year here, almost 7 years ago, when we had a huge quantity of spawn and thousands of hatched tadpoles later. Since then, there's been very little evidence of spawn, though I haven't interfered with the pond at all. Perhaps nature is readjusting the local population.

As for the dead frog, I've also had a number of thes, both in and out of the water. I think many of the males simply die naturally soon after mating - or perhaps the females after spawning. I don't think the cycle is affected in any way by cats, which will happily lean over and paw the water sometimes when they see movement, but they can't do much else.