Posts
A swarm of tiny frogs
An infestation
An invasion
However you put it, we've got it
It's impossible to take a decent picture. They're only about the size of an olive, almost the same colour as the tarseal and leap all over the place when I get close enough for a photo.
The cats don't seem at all interested in them and neither do the seagulls but the swarms in the middle of the road won't live long. We couldn't avoid driving over them
This is a photo of one taken by our neighbour Georgia
There are thousands and thousands of them hopping all over the roads around us. Another few thousands squashed on the road.
We've never seen anything like it.
Frogs lay thousands of eggs and 'very heavy rain followed by warm weather speeds up the development of the tadpoles and forces them into a synchronised boom'. They must have spawned down on the flooded plateau and with this warm weather have suddenly turned from tadpoles to frogs, or toads in their thousands
In some countries it is believed that swarms of frogs are a warning of earthquakes. However, 'scientific analysis has shown that mass migrations of tiny frogs in spring are not related to earthquakes'. Lets hope that scientific analysis is correct
.JPG)
%20(2).JPG)
Ooh... sounds a little creepy!
ReplyDeleteThey're so tiny, they're hardly noticeable until there are hundreds together. They don't like our house thank goodness
DeleteI hope the legend doesn't prove true, too.
ReplyDeleteWhen we had frogs, we used to have dozens of tiny froglets in the grass. I was always worried about them being caught up in the lawnmower on the rare occasions we mowed the lawn, but they seemed to survive. I'm sure the birds enjoyed them.
It was very strange seeing so many frogs and they were so tiny. Theyve mostly disappeared today, hopefully to safety in the long grasses
DeleteI remember a similar phenomenon in Germany forty years ago or more, lots of little frogs. My children were very small then and enjoyed catching them. I of course preferred to ignore these little creatures.
ReplyDeleteThey were so small and moved so quickly I couldn't even photograph them. Very strange
DeleteGoodness, that's a lot of frogs ! When I was growing up, I used to collect tadpoles and then they would turn into frogs, and I was delighted to have them hoping around the yard everywhere. My mother was scared of frogs, so eventually I was encouraged to stop tadpoling :)
ReplyDeleteHoping the legend is not true.
Hugs,
Jo
We've had an explosion of tiny snails too in the garden this winter. We had so much rain and the temperatures were mild. Perfect for small creatures it seems
DeleteAt a school I taught at, one year there were many many tiny frogs ( don’t think they were toads) out in the grass on the playground. The kids were very respectful of them and kept trying to bring them into the school. I’d never experienced another spring like that. It must have been just the right conditions, like you must have had in your area.
ReplyDeleteI’m surprised more predators aren’t taking advantage of your frog situation! - Jenn
It's not so uncommon it seems. I was surprised the wild cats weren't devouring them. Maybe the night animals were more interested, weasels for a start.
Delete