There's No Frogs...

[Erin Bingham]

Hi, I am new to Frog Forum and have only joined to asked a particular question and learn a little more about frogs.

I walk my dog every evening in the beautiful Speke Hall Grounds, Liverpool. The grounds have large ponds, small lakes, surrounded by woods, fields and some marshy land. I have been going there most days / evenings for a few years and although we have seen many voles, rabbits, herons, buzzards, carp and foxes we have never once seen a tadpole, frog or toad.

Is there any particular reason(s) why frogs or toads would not thrive there?

The ponds / small lakes are filled with Lilly Pads during the summer and there is a lot of wildlife activity in the area. I just do not understand why there are no frogs there.

I thought at first that I may not be looking in the right places or they might hide when they see us coming but I asked a fisherman who is regularly there and he says he doesn't understand it either. He has frequented there for many years and also had never seen a tadpole, frog or toad, although he says there are lots at the other places where he goes fishing.

Can anyone explain this?

Thanks for your help.

[ejh805]

Frogs and Toads are often indicators of how healthy an environment is.
Is there any pollution or run-off from polluted areas anywhere nearby?

[tgampper]

Hi Erin, welcome to Frog Forum. I am not sure of the reasons why you haven't seen any frogs or toads. It could be that you are looking at the wrong times. Probably the best time of the year is between April and June. I live in Nebraska where we have some bitter cold winters and I have heard frogs in the early spring even with some snow on the ground. I know that groups in England has established excellent pond conservation programs throughout the country. Here is a link to a publication that tells about all the frogs and newts in the UK (BTW, there are not many species).

http://www.arc-trust.org/downloads/2...Amphibians.pdf

[Duriel]

They may just be hiding, depending on what species live in your area. I live near a lake in a somewhat forested area with farms nearby, so obviously I am seeing them all the time. Mostly juvenile bullfrogs humping up against my house during a strong rain (lots upon lots of spiders live there, but I suspect they migrate when they are young.) Lots of (semi?) treefrogs too. I've only seen 4 American toads since I moved in in August. 2 of which I currently keep, 1 of which was very small late in the year and died, and 1 which I saw already dead in my yard. Can't say much for other species, but American toads are very common and will typically be found under leaf litter/loose logs. I found mine hopping about because I dared not enter the "forest of forgotten tears" behind my house (brown recluse, as well as larger and less dangerous spiders.)

[Erin Bingham]

Hi All and thanks for your replies and ideas.

Now to reply to some of your points. I thought I may have been looking in the wrong places or the frogs and toads might have been hiding from us but I go to this place all year round and have never spotted any evidence of any frogs or toads. I have also asked other regular visitors (some who sit at the lake edge for hours on end, day in, day out) and they also have not seen any at all, not even a tadpole! This just seems odd to me.

I am worried about Emilys' pollution idea. It is of course possible. The place where we go is approx 500 meters away from the River Mersey in Liverpool, it's been cleaned up lots in recent years but still, it's probably not the cleanest of rivers. It's also pretty close to Liverpool John Lennon Airport which is not the busiest airport in the World but still has quite a bit of air traffic. But still, none of this seems to deter the other wildlife that we often see there. Here is a link to a map so you can see for yourselves... http://goo.gl/maps/743ug

It's a long shot but something that crossed my mind is that maybe the frogs and toads are kept away by another wildlife? Does anyone know of anything that frogs and toads avoid cohabiting with? Maybe that's the reason??

It's such a shame there are no frogs there, they would be a wonderful addition to this beautiful place.

Please let me know your thoughts.