Frog And Toad Dragons And Giants Read Aloud

[Gene Cryder]

The UK's amphibians are very variable in colour. This can sometimes make identification difficult but it is more likely that the animal you have seen is a common species with unusual colouring, rather than something exotic.

Common frogs, for example, can appear brown, orange, red, cream or even black. Male common frogs can also develop a blue tinge to their throats in spring, and females can appear more pink or red. Occasionally, a red colouring can be a sign of disease, but usually only when coupled with other symptoms.

In most parts of the UK, amphibians (particularly common frogs and smooth newts) should find their own way to ponds, as long as they are in the area and can access the garden. It can take two years or more for a pond to be colonised, even when conditions are ideal, so do not be concerned if your pond is not immediately full of amphibians! Download our Dragons in your Garden leaflet for tips on attracting amphibians.

Amphibians spend the majority of their life on land and are often found in gardens, sometimes hundreds of metres from ponds / water. Common frogs are frequently found in urban areas and gardens are an important amphibian habitat in their own right.

If the animal is trapped or in danger, release it into another part of the garden that provides cover from predators and extreme weather, such as in a compost heap, underneath a garden shed or near / underneath dense foliage; it does not need to be moved to in a pond. If your garden does not seem 'amphibian-friendly' move the animal to your neighbour's garden or the nearest suitable habitat (within 1km).

During spring, amphibians return to ponds to breed. In garden ponds, common frogs can be particularly numerous at this time of year. This is a completely natural phenomenon, typical of amphibian populations around the world, with some years being particularly successful and others less so. Spawning can last for a couple of weeks and activity will then decline, with adults moving to different parts of the pond or leaving the water completely. In the case of common toads, the vast majority will only spend a small amount of time in the water.

Amphibians are dormant in winter, taking advantage of milder patches of weather to come out and forage. For this reason, if you do disturb an animal in winter, it should be unharmed if covered up and left undisturbed. If you are unable to put the animal back where you found it, place it somewhere that offers protection from frost and garden predators like cats. Suitable places include log piles, under sheds or within your compost heap; it should not be somewhere 'warm', just a place that keeps free of frost.

Amphibians migrate to ponds in spring, often returning to areas where they spawned in previous years. If ponds have been removed it can be common for amphibians to still return to the same area. In most cases amphibians will eventually move off of their own accord.

Frogs and toads breed in the spring when they migrate to their breeding ponds / ditches / etc. Migration is weather dependent (they prefer mild, wet evenings) and so is determined by location - it tends to occur later in the north and east of the country and earlier in the south. Visit Nature's Calendar to view how spawning dates differ around the country. In some cases, lack of breeding amphibians in your pond could be the result of a local population decline. Only 1% of spawn are considered to make it to full adulthood.

If possible, delay pond maintenance until late autumn (September/October), so that tadpoles have been given time to metamorphose and before adult frogs return to the pond to hibernate (male frogs may lie dormant on the bottom of the pond during winter). If you need to carry out the work more urgently, place any amphibians you find in a tank or suitable container, preferably with pond water, while you do the work and return them to the garden / pond when you've finished.

If you are considering filling in your pond because of safety concerns we advise you to consider installing some simple safety precautions for the pond instead, see our Pond FAQ: 'How can I make my pond safer for children?'. There is no organisation that will pick up animals disturbed as a result of you filling in your pond.

Of the widespread species of amphibian, the great crested newt, pool frog and natterjack toad are protected by law from intentional killing and injury; their habitats (including ponds and key foraging areas) are also protected. If you suspect incidents where this law might be being flouted, please inform us. In 2007, the UK Biodiversity Action Partnership (UKBAP) listed the common toad as a species of conservation concern. In England and Wales this means that (under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006) all public bodies must have regard for common toads, and great crested newts, (specifically under 'biodiversity conservation') when carrying our their functions. In addition, Planning Policy Statement 9 (PPS9) states that planning authorities should ensure that species of principal importance, including the common toad and great crested newt, are protected from the adverse effects of development. It's important you submit records of your sightings to the national Record Pool so if/when consultants are researching an area they pick up these species at the earliest opportunities.

Amphibians form a crucial part of the diet of many animals so you can expect to see a number of predators in your garden if there are frogs (in particular) present. Some predators, like grass snakes, have disappeared from many parts of the UK where they once thrived; having these animals in your garden is a privilege.

Cats sometimes like to catch and play with frogs, and might kill them. Adding a variety of places in your garden for amphibians to hide when disturbed is the best advice. Log piles, rockeries, dense low-growing foliage and water bodies can all provide places where frogs can hide and cats have trouble getting their paws into.

Frogs can sometimes let out a shrill shrieking noise when disturbed or picked up by pets, predators or people. This is a natural form of defence. Some frogs may also 'play dead'. Toads, on the other hand, can inflate themselves with air - which makes them look bigger to possible predators and too big to be eaten!

A coalition of nature and landscape charities have joined forces to object to a serious threat to the internationally significant nature reserve at Sandscale Haws and the wider Morecambe Bay and Duddon estuary.

Advice to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) on Amendments to the List of Key Threatening Processes under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)

Cane Toads are large ground dwelling amphibians with a dry warty skin. They have a bony head with bony ridges over their eyes, sit upright and move in short rapid hops. Their colour ranges from grey to olive brown and they have a pale belly with dark irregular spots. The average size of an adult is 10-15cm long but females have been recorded growing up to and over 23cm. They breed in still or slow-flowing water and can tolerate salinity levels up to 15%. Adult Cane Toads are active at night during the warm months of the year and can survive temperatures ranging from 5-40 degrees celsius. Cane Toad spawn occurs in long gelatinous strings with double rows of black eggs with females laying between 8-35 000 eggs at a time. Cane Toads have a life span of about five years, breed twice a year, and take between 6-18 months to reach sexual maturity.

Cane Toads can reach high densities in suitable habitat (over 2000 individuals per hectare). In recently colonised populations (less than two years old) they rapidly increase in number to levels far in excess of those in older established populations. Cane Toads move during the wet season, requiring access to water for rehydration and breeding, and during the dry season are known to seek refuge in damp areas near creeks.

The Cane Toad is a native of central and south America with a natural range extending from southern United States to tropical South America. Cane Toads have proven to be highly effective invaders of new ecosystems with their distribution now extending to over twenty new countries.

Cane Toads have been present in Australia for nearly seventy years. They were introduced to Australia in 1935, when approximately 100 individuals were imported from Hawaii in 1935. Around 3000 young toads were released at Gordonvale near Cairns, North Queensland, to control the sugar cane pests, French's Cane Beetle, and the Greyback Cane Beetle, Dermolepida albohirtum, whose larvae eat the roots of sugar cane and kill or stunt the plants. Cane Toads proved to be unsuccessful in controlling cane beetles.

Since its introduction to Australia, the Cane Toad has spread south and west across the continent and now occurs in Queensland, Northern Territory and New South Wales. From their introductory site near Cairns, the Cane Toad has spread throughout Queensland, being recorded in Brisbane in the 1940s, and was considered to occupy approximately 50% of the State by the late 1990s (Sutherst et al. 1995). During the early 1960s, the Cane Toad was recorded in north eastern New South Wales and is now considered to occur on the north coast of New South Wales as far south as the Clarence River/Yamba. The only confirmed breeding colony south of this area being at Lake Innes, near Port Macquarie.

Cane Toads crossed into the Northern Territory from Queensland in the 1980s, reached the southern end of Kakadu National Park in 2001, and have colonised Arnhem Land, the Gulf of Carpentaria lowlands and the Katherine River watershed.

Analysis of climatic variables and the adaptive abilities of the Cane Toad suggests that Cane Toads may eventually permanently inhabit the wet coastal areas of the eastern and northern parts of the continent at least as far south as Port Macquarie in the east of the continent and south to Broome in Western Australia. Temperature range analysis has indicated that Cane Toads, in warm years, could overwinter as far south as Bega near the Victorian border. Conversely, a drop of 2-2.5 degrees celsius in mean temperature would result in a shrinkage of the suitable overwintering area to the far north coast of NSW. It was estimated, based on this model, that Cane Toads will further increase their range primarily throughout coastal and near coastal regions of tropical Australia to encompass an area of approximately two million km2 (Sutherst et al. 1995). In addition, Cane Toads have now been recorded well inland, at least as far south as Dunmarra, Northern Territory.

3a8082e126