Saturday, 21 March 2009

Frogs and Toads

We went for a lovely walk today, round Blackford Pond and along the Braid Burn. Blackford Pond had a good number of tufted ducks, mallards with a couple of swans, two greylag geese, a coot and a moorhen. Under the water there were a load of common toads, some mating, some fighting, others just sitting. A lot of the females were different colours. The nearby marshy wildlife garden had a muddy pond with a few common frogs and a lot of frogspawn. Then in the field behind the nearby allotments we found a marshy patch, which was alive with frogs croaking, mating, fighting and chasing each other. The area was full of frogspawn. Such a wonderful sight given the perilous situation many amphibians find themselves in these days.

The wooded area along the Braid Burn was covered in wild garlic, growing like a particularly luxuriant grass, plenty of ferns in good leaf. The trees were full of birdsong and there were loads of jackdaws calling and flying around. We saw a dipper rushing along the river and two grey wagtails feeding and fluttering over the water.

11 comments:

lunarossa said...

I should really get into bird watching. I do not know much about them but I'd like to reading your post. Have a nice Sunday. Ciao. A.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

It sounds like the perfect Spring day!

Vickie said...

Love that little dipper and enjoyed seeing the jackdaw...a crow with a flare.

RG said...

Ah Spring! (Hope we get some!)

Anonymous said...

Love the new header photo! It's literally a burst of Spring.

d. moll, l.ac. said...

I love toads, grew up with them.

Lucy said...

I saw wild garlic the other day, you don't see much hereabouts; I used to like picking and eating it before I believe it became a trendy restaurant ingredient!

Mistlethrush said...

Sounds like a wonderful walk.

Janice Thomson said...

We don't have toads in this particular area and few frogs. I miss seeing them. Sounds like a wonderful day.

Anonymous said...

I would have been elated to go on such a walk. Joyous!!

Unknown said...

tra la la la la (bird singing)

I wonder myself how the climate and the landscape influences our souls.