My frogs are fucked - thanks to a visiting heron. No spawn, no idea if the adults have survived. I’ve had the pond for about ten years, and the frogs found it almost immediately. The heron visits started last year.
Most of the Frog decline is due to herbicides and other endocrine disruptors though, as low as several parts per billion in the water can wipe out frog populations, rendering them hermaphroditic and sterile. That said, I have large swamps around me that are completely absent to frogs, and it is in the State and National forest, there should not be that level of pollution to wipe them out, I was thinking about netting some tadpoles and introducing them there from nearby. Frogs make a huge difference in controlling mosquitoes, the tadpoles eat mosquito larvae.
No issues with mosquitos here in Scotland, lol. I had maybe a dozen very healthy frogs in my pond, with great piles of spawn every spring and tadpoles galore. Then one morning last year I opened my curtains to see a heron standing in the pond. It’s been back again this month. I can’t really cover the pond, because the frogs need to come and go. Several herons live along a nearby estuary, and I guess this one happened to spot my pond one sunny day.
Might wanna check with the rangers and park authority. It would be better to do that as a well researched conservation project, rather than just moving a bunch of tadpoles from one pond to another.
But it does sound like a noble effort, and kinda fun.
The Rangers do not care, and the neighbors are all gun toting Hicks many of which shoot and poison everything on purpose. If it is nearby it’s got to be a native or naturalized frog, I’m only talking about moving them like a mile or less. I would much prefer to be able to test the water to see what might be killing them but that’s just not in the cards here.
My frogs are fucked - thanks to a visiting heron. No spawn, no idea if the adults have survived. I’ve had the pond for about ten years, and the frogs found it almost immediately. The heron visits started last year.
Most of the Frog decline is due to herbicides and other endocrine disruptors though, as low as several parts per billion in the water can wipe out frog populations, rendering them hermaphroditic and sterile. That said, I have large swamps around me that are completely absent to frogs, and it is in the State and National forest, there should not be that level of pollution to wipe them out, I was thinking about netting some tadpoles and introducing them there from nearby. Frogs make a huge difference in controlling mosquitoes, the tadpoles eat mosquito larvae.
No issues with mosquitos here in Scotland, lol. I had maybe a dozen very healthy frogs in my pond, with great piles of spawn every spring and tadpoles galore. Then one morning last year I opened my curtains to see a heron standing in the pond. It’s been back again this month. I can’t really cover the pond, because the frogs need to come and go. Several herons live along a nearby estuary, and I guess this one happened to spot my pond one sunny day.
That tracks on the mosquitoes, mountainous areas drain too fast for them to proliferate like in the uppee midwest us here and our stagnant swamps.
I have known people with like goldfish and coy ponds in their Gardens that have had herons stop by and clean them out.
Maybe you could try a scarecrow or something.
Consider getting a fake decoy heron, apparently they can be dissuaded from intruding on another’s turf!
Excellent suggestion!!! Thank you.
Might wanna check with the rangers and park authority. It would be better to do that as a well researched conservation project, rather than just moving a bunch of tadpoles from one pond to another.
But it does sound like a noble effort, and kinda fun.
The Rangers do not care, and the neighbors are all gun toting Hicks many of which shoot and poison everything on purpose. If it is nearby it’s got to be a native or naturalized frog, I’m only talking about moving them like a mile or less. I would much prefer to be able to test the water to see what might be killing them but that’s just not in the cards here.