Our pond is now littered with Toadspawn, and with
Toads mating in it still there's likely to be even more. However there is only one little dollop of Frogspawn left. The
Smooth Newts snack on it like there's no tomorrow. They only leave Toadspawn alone because, like their parents, toadspawn and the tadpoles that come from it secrete a poison that makes them taste disgusting to even the hungriest newt.
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| don't eat this stuff |
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the Eggs of a Snail, probably a Ramshorn. I was hoping to find Newt eggs under some of the water-lily leaves but no joy.
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However, the highlight was found under some tiles Dad had the hindsight to put by the pond several years ago. If you are lucky you may well find some cold-blooded creature trying to warm itself up, as these act like a microwave for the sunlight. Today was no exception, with two
Slow Worms basking under them in all their glory. One was skittish enough to move away quickly, but the other was quite happy to sit there and be photographed for a while...
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| Slow Worm |
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| Legless Lizard |
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| Lazy Bastard |
And what about birds, I hear you ask? Well, I got a garden tick today, a
Mediterranean Gull circled over the house a few times, calling. A few
Meadow Pipits were also heading north. And as a final note to end this post, I saw two
Small Tortoiseshells. My first spring butterflies of the year!
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