Whilst considering what to do today, I recalled someone mentioning some 'pool frogs' at Greenham Common which have a later breeding cycle than the common frog and could be seen and heard in one of the wildlife ponds during May. As this was on the way to my daughter's house, I stopped off in the carpark to see whether I could see them.
Taking a path round to the pond through a gate leading from the car park, I stopped to admire the flowers of water lilies in one corner of the pond, before making my way down to the water's edge.
I soon saw some movement and heard the inevitable 'plops' as several frogs dived under the water for safety. Studying the water surface I noticed one or two more frogs, poking up their heavily camouflaged heads amongst the leaves and weeds which were floating on the water. Occasionally one would make a few slow swimming strokes towards a leaf then stop.
The frogs all had a green stripe running down their back which differs from the common frog.
Just along from where I was standing, I couple were also admiring the frogs, then I heard them point out a grass snake which was swimming across towards the lily leaves. It proceeded to slither across the surface of the leaves before disappearing under the overhanging branches.
Occasionally I could hear the croak of a frog, and then suddenly it turned into a chorus of croaking from various areas of the pond. It was quite loud and continued for half a minute or so before stopping again.
It was a tranquil scene in the warm sunshine and I could have sat and watched for longer but decided I had better continue my journey to my daughter's house.
No comments:
Post a Comment