What to do outside in May....Go Hunting for Tadpoles

With two Bank Holidays this month, May is the perfect time to get outside with the children and have some fun.  There are lots of things you can do, without spending a penny, now the warmer spring weather is here……like go hunting for frogspawn and tadpoles. 

 

Boys and girls of all ages are fascinated by frogspawn – and most grown ups too!  It’s great fun to collect frogspawn, watch it hatch out in to tiny, wriggling tadpoles and then eventually change in to little froglets. It’s something they will remember all their lives and probably do with their children one day too.

 

As well as being fun, seeing the life cycle of the common frog is a wonderful way of instilling in to your children a lifelong love of nature and how to care for things that live around us.

 

So get out your fishing nets, pull on your wellies and follow Little Terra’s handy guide to frogspawn and tadpoles.

 

1.  Even the smallest wildlife ponds can attract large numbers of breeding frogs.  Female frogs lay their eggs quite quickly, producing perhaps 1,000 in an hour and laying up to 4,000 in total. When newly laid, the eggs sink to the bottom but as the jelly covering them gradually swells with pond water, they float to the surface, where they remain for several weeks until they hatch into tadpoles.  If you can’t find any ponds near you, the local wildlife trust can often help suggest sources or help you to find a local reserve, many of which have ponds for you to observe frogspawn if you don't want to collect your own.  Visit www.wildlifetrusts.org for more info.

 

 

2.  Once you have collected your frogspawn or tadpoles the next thing to do is create them a new home.  A simple container filled with unpolluted pond water or rain water is all they need to begin with, but if you really want to encourage them to grow in to frogs consider building a small pebble pond feature – there are lots of ready made kits available in garden centres that the children can have fun making, some even have fountains and other water features. 

 

3.  Alternatively, make your own miniature pond.  Sealed half barrels, terracotta pots and even modern plastic planters are all suitable but make sure you choose its site carefully before you start filling it as even a small pot can be heavy once full of water. Pick a firm, level spot in a sheltered part of the garden or patio, away from trees, where it will get enough light. Water temperature is very important, between 15 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius is the best temperature for tadpole development. Pollution can be a problem if the temperature rises above 20 degrees Celsius. The small volume of water in these ponds makes over-heating a real possibility, so try to locate it where it will be shaded from the sun during the hottest part of the day. Cover the bottom of your container with 5cm (2 inches) of washed pea gravel and then fill it two-thirds full with water.

4. Then select your plants, bearing in mind the small space available and that overly-vigorous plants will soon take over and choke the water. With a little care to avoid overcrowding, one or two selected specimens of marginals such as the variegated Japanese rush (Acorus gramineus), deep water plants, oxygenators and floating plants like the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) can successfully be accommodated to provide an imaginative display in even the most cramped of corners. How many plants you can house really depends on both the volume of the container and its surface area. A 50 litre (12 gallon) pot will happily accommodate up to eight plants.

5. Ensure the plants are in plastic-mesh pond pots, before you fill them with garden soil and then pop a few more gravel stones on the top.  Taking special care not to disturb the soil, lower them to the bottom of your container. Finally, top up the pond so that the water lies about 2–5cm (1–2 inches) from the top and then add any floating plants.

6. Next transfer your frog spawn or tadpoles in to their new home.  Firstly, stand the small container complete with frog spawn inside the large container for at least an hour. When both water temperatures are the same, you can release the frog spawn into the aquarium. It is most important that the frog spawn or tadpoles do not over-crowd the containers at any stage.

7. When the tadpoles first hatch they can be given lettuce leaves to eat. A quantity of fresh pond weed is also very important; partly as food and partly as support for young tadpoles. Nettle powder, made from dried stinging nettle leaves, can also be fed to the young tadpoles.

8. After a while, things start getting exciting!  When tadpoles reach the leg stage they become carnivorous (meat eaters). They will eat each other unless you provide meat for them. Small pieces of liver should be carefully suspended on a piece of string into the water but should be changed every day to avoid polluting the water.

9. When tadpoles reach the leg stage, you will see them change in to miniature froglets, almost ready to make their own way in the world.  Make sure that stones are placed in the aquarium in such a way that the developing young frogs can climb clear of the water to breathe.  You might also want to consider building up the outside of your pond with rocks and large leafy plants so that they can get out on their own and have somewhere to hide under and shelter.

10. The whole process of change - from tadpole to young frog – takes about 12 to 14 weeks. When the time comes to release the young frogs into the countryside, put them in as safe a place as you can.

The Common Garden Frog although still widespread is by no means as common these days so you will be helping an indigenous species survive and as they help keep down bugs, snails, slugs and other garden pests them you’ll be doing your flowers and vegetables a favour by nurturing them too. For more information on exploring ponds and pond life take a look at Little Terra's Pond and Rock Pool Explorer Kit

Always remember to be highly vigilant with your youngsters around ponds and barrels as it is easy for an inquisitive

toddler to end up in the water.