Part Five: Find Out About the Frog’s Amazing Life Cycle
It’s almost spring! Have you spotted any crocuses or daffodils on your walks this week? Our last Outdoor Explorers post was about watching birds in your garden by taking part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. Today, we’re talking about damp, green creatures that hop and say ribbit… can you guess what they are?
They’re frogs, of course. Frogs have an amazing life cycle.
The Frog Life Cycle
In spring, adult frogs head to a pond to breed – most choose the pond they were born in. Female frogs lay clumps of frogspawn from January onwards, but usually late February to March. Two to four weeks later, tadpoles hatch out. They eat algae. After about four months, they do something amazing – they grow back legs, then front legs! When their back legs appear, they become carnivorous and eat water fleas. When their back legs are fully grown, their tail drops off. At this stage, they leave the pond they were born in. They are only the size of your fingernail!
Frogs eat worms, slugs and insects. They like to live near ponds or in damp areas. They spend the winter somewhere warm and safe, such as a compost heap, under a rock, or at the bottom of a pond.
It’s easy to tell frogs and toads apart. They’re toad-a-ly different! Frogs have smooth, damp skin and long legs. They hop. Toads have dry, warty skin and golden eyes. They crawl instead of hopping.
Helping Frogs and Toads Across the Road
In spring, you’re more likely to see frogs, toads and newts because they’re migrating to the pond where they were born, to breed. This can be dangerous: frogs and toads often have to cross busy roads on the way. Can you imagine being a tiny frog or even smaller newt and having to hop or crawl across fields, ditches and roads to your pond?
Sadly, every year frogs and toads are killed on our roads, often when they are migrating. If you’d like to help our amphibian friends cross the road, then why not look into the toad patrols organised by wildlife charity Froglife? They take place across the UK each spring. Volunteers go out each evening to find frogs and toads and carry them safely across the road in buckets. In 2019, 107,401 toads were rescued by toad patrollers at 210 sites across the UK.
Creating a Mini Pond to Help Wildlife
It’s easy to make a mini pond – find out how here. All you need is an old container that will hold water. Use your imagination! Remember to add a ramp or stones to make sure that any creatures that fall in can get out. Your pond will soon attract insects such as dragonflies, birds, and maybe even frogs. If you have room, you could even think about a bigger pond – download this leaflet by The Wildlife Trusts to find out more.
Safety Around Water
Please be very careful around water: never leave young children unsupervised around water. See this link for information on water safety.
Frog Jokes
Our last blog talked about the Frog Prince. Let’s end this one with our favourite frog jokes…
Q: What’s green and loud?
A: A frog horn!
Q: What’s a frog’s favourite year?
A: Leap year!
Q: How does a frog feel when he has a broken leg?
A: Unhoppy!
Frogs and toads prefer to migrate after dark on days that are damp and not too cold. Why not go to your local pond this month and see if you can find some? You might hear them croaking to each other.
Frogspawn is one of the signs of spring. How many signs can you spot this spring?