Buzzards and Frogs

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

You can leave the jibes at Jwshi..sorry JWshooter for a while. Seems he's banned for a month. Save it until he comes back.

Anyway back to Buzzards and Frogs. Why the combination? Yes, Buzzards eat frogs; as do many other species. Do they have a negative affect on number? Of course not. It's a natural situation in balance.

Now Frogs for Frogs sake. Yes, numbers seem lower this year but, as already stated, this should recover. We are conducting a survey on numbers but that does not suggest a population problem. We don't just survey when we feel a species is in danger.

Mothman

E39MSport wrote: »

@Mothman
I just read the originating thread after reading this twice wondering how could I have been that pi55ed to start a thread and not remember (I read it earlier today also).

Now there are 2 reasons. I'm in Alsace taking onboard everything they have to offer. Earlier today I gave in to the inevitable and assumed I'd been DUI. However, it has since emerged that Mothman has been 'trapping' my thoughts.

Mothman, don't do that to me.

Sorry
I had to pick a start point and that one liner happened to be it....

Perhaps I could have inserted a note in your post mentioning it had been moved, but some members may take objection to this intrusion.
I'll bear it in mind, perhaps a short pm to inform...

Back on topic, its the annual frog carnage with me today
I've mowed my meadow and unless I leave to till well into November there are a lot of casualties no matter when I do it, as many as a third, but a lot when one considers that there may be as many as 100 frogs in it.

E39MSport

^ was pulling your leg.

Must be difficult to knowingly cause that damage to the local frog population. I'm sure you'll have a buzzard or three in for Supper though.

Feargal as Luimneach

Mothman wrote: »

Sorry
I had to pick a start point and that one liner happened to be it....

Perhaps I could have inserted a note in your post mentioning it had been moved, but some members may take objection to this intrusion.
I'll bear it in mind, perhaps a short pm to inform...

Back on topic, its the annual frog carnage with me today
I've mowed my meadow and unless I leave to till well into November there are a lot of casualties no matter when I do it, as many as a third, but a lot when one considers that there may be as many as 100 frogs in it.

I only cut grass once a year. The wild flower meadow patch will be cut in the spring. I'm not looking forward to it either. I had a bumper year for emerging froglets in the garden.

wildlifeboy

how can you justify mowing your lawn when you are knowingly killing all those poor frogs??

Mothman

E39MSport wrote: »

^ was pulling your leg.

Must be difficult to knowingly cause that damage to the local frog population. I'm sure you'll have a buzzard or three in for Supper though.

Fair enough but still an issue all the same.

Well if I didn't put in lake or pond I wouldn't have the frogs. Doesn't really make it any better killing them. The buzzards won't be in but the hens eat them :eek:
It was just the one Spring when I had the Buzzard each day for its frogs. I thought at the time that it would happen annually but didn't happen again.

Mothman

wildlifeboy wrote: »

how can you justify mowing your lawn when you are knowingly killing all those poor frogs??

Well on many levels. But it isn't my lawn. It is my meadow. If I hadn't created the habitat for them, I wouldn't have frogs. If it was a lawn it wouldn't have frogs. I have been following near enough the same management for many years and the numbers of frogs has not reduced.

Also because this meadow is around my house, it is a fire hazard with all the dry flowers and grass. By mowing it now, it greens up and gives me a buffer zone should we get a dry spell.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

wildlifeboy wrote: »

how can you justify mowing your lawn when you are knowingly killing all those poor frogs??

Keep some perspective. Some times we have to do things about the house. I have a portion of lawn that's kept neat and trimmed. From time to time I catch a frog with the mower. It happens but, as Mothman said, I have created an environment that helps frogs and an odd casualty, while unfortunate, is not the end of the world.

wildlifeboy

Abel Spoiled Rigging wrote: »

Keep some perspective. Some times we have to do things about the house. I have a portion of lawn that's kept neat and trimmed. From time to time I catch a frog with the mower. It happens but, as Mothman said, I have created an environment that helps frogs and an odd casualty, while unfortunate, is not the end of the world.

In fairness that was said tongue in cheek, I completely respect what you are doing.Here is an obvious tip, dont put frogspawn in with Koy Carp. I'd say only about 5 survived out of thousands!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

wildlifeboy wrote: »

tip, dont put frogspawn in with Koy Carp. I'd say only about 5 survived out of thousands!

Watch for Herons as well!

It's a wonder any survive at all!

Isn't Nature wonderful?

E39MSport

.... the circle completes

Feargal as Luimneach

Mothman wrote: »

Well on many levels. But it isn't my lawn. It is my meadow. If I hadn't created the habitat for them, I wouldn't have frogs. If it was a lawn it wouldn't have frogs. I have been following near enough the same management for many years and the numbers of frogs has not reduced.

Also because this meadow is around my house, it is a fire hazard with all the dry flowers and grass. By mowing it now, it greens up and gives me a buffer zone should we get a dry spell.

I understand where Wildlife boy is coming from, but I too have to trim the grass. Granted it's only once a year and I'll be on my hands and knees picking up any froglets before it's trimmed. The wildflower meadow patch has to be mowed once a year to stop it becoming rank(not good for wildlife).
Before I moved into my place it was a barren desert IMO(ie a "well" maintained garden with non-native plants). There was no frogs:(, but after removing all non-native plants and putting in two ponds, 100+ metres of native irish hedgerow, six bogs and a wildflower meadow. I also dug up my driveway to put in a 6mx3m heather bog. Thankfully I've plenty now of frogs and some Newts. Forgive my boasting:o

wildlifeboy

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

I understand where Wildlife boy is coming from, but I too have to trim the grass. Granted it's only once a year and I'll be on my hands and knees picking up any froglets before it's trimmed. The wildflower meadow patch has to be mowed once a year to stop it becoming rank(not good for wildlife).
Before I moved into my place it was a barren desert IMO(ie a "well" maintained garden with non-native plants). There was no frogs:(, but after removing all non-native plants and putting in two ponds, 100+ metres of native irish hedgerow, six bogs and a wildflower meadow. I also dug up my driveway to put in a 6mx3m heather bog. Thankfully I've plenty now of frogs and some Newts. Forgive my boasting:o

Can we see some pics?

Feargal as Luimneach

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055899571&highlight=photographic+pond&page=3
Here's some photos


And what was the driveway: heather bog collected from a bog that is was being infilled

littlebug

Nothing to do with buzzards :rolleyes: but I noticed quite a lot of little dead frogs along the side of the road yesterday... some squashed but many of them not. Any ideas on what might have killed them if not traffic?

Everett

Probably a piece of useless info, but thought i would share, when i was driving home one night a couple of weeks ago in the really wet weather, the rain was pouring and up ahead i thought the road was moving, there must have been thousands of frogs hopping across the road in front of me all along the road further ahead, i stopped the van and was amazed watching these frogs moving from one field to the other,anyone know why they where doing this in the thousands,i have only seen this once and in torrential rain.

Mothman

littlebug and Everett
What size were the frogs?

littlebug

The one that I stopped to look at properly was lying belly up and with legs outstretched was maybe 3-4 inches or thereabouts. There weren't thousands in one place like Everett saw but on a stretch of 6 miles I saw quite a few. I have no idea how many but enough to make me notice.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

These are Frogs moving from Summer/Breeding areas in preparation for hibernation.

The expression "raining cats and dogs" originally was "raining frogs" but Cockney rhyming slang then substituted "cats and dogs" for "frogs". The mass exodus of frogs from their breeding ponds has long been observed and, because the movement of many thousands of frogs usually takes place in wet weather, it has given rise to the belief that frogs came from the sky.

Everett

Mothman wrote: »

littlebug and Everett
What size were the frogs?

Different sizes mothman , 3-4 inches being the majority.Wasnt too far from you either Mothman.