Oh what would Dr. Seuss say! Well, he may have said something like,
“I like Green Frogs in our pond,
They sing like banjos all day long.
I watch them as they hop and play,
I see them do this every day!”
Ok, I’ll leave the rhyming to Dr.Seuss — but I did want to share some neat shots of the eggs that they laid in our little front yard pond.
Earlier this year, a snapping turtle showed up in the pond and the Green Frogs were clearly concerned. (I thought it was neat but I can see their point). After the turtle departed however, their activities returned to normal, and one day, as I peered into the pond, I saw a very large mass of eggs.
By a quick estimate, the mass must have had at least 800 eggs! These eggs did not go unnoticed though by the Wood Frog tadpoles and other creatures in the pond and many were gobbled up. (See, there are those that do like green eggs! even though these weren’t really green, they’re more brown)
The eggs that went uneaten hatched within a few days and the tadpoles are now in the leaf litter eating various things in the pond. They will take about 2 years to develop into frogs and only few will make it to adulthood, but it was fun to document their beginnings.
Having a backyard pond is a great way to watch wildlife and learn about nature — all sorts of animals walk, hop and fly in!