> Virtual walk > May 24 > Amphibian breeding pond

Although there is a pond at the south end of the trail, which is a popular breeding place for frogs and toads, it was decided early in the process of planning the trail that an additional pond was desirable.

The storm water settling pond at the south end is generally pretty muddy, since its purpose is to collect the dirt and let it settle to the bottom before so that the water enters the creek somewhat clarified. As the number of streets draining into this pond increases there will probably be even more storm water entering that pond, increasing the murkiness of the water.

The first attempt at digging a pond in the summer of 2000 resulted in a fairly shallow water level. A little deeper hole gave a better result. The next question is whether it would actually attract the frogs and/or toads we were seeking.

Earlier this Spring, it became obvious that we were successful, since I heard a couple of "plunks" into the water every time I walked near to the pond. This time, I managed to sneak up on a couple of frogs, as you can see in these pictures.

Not only are there a number of frogs in the pond, but you can see in the first and second pictures in this page that there are tadpoles, too, so something has been breeding already (likely Leopard Frogs), thus fulfilling the original purpose of the amphibian breeding pond.

The frogs shown in the pictures are members of the Green Frog (Rana clamitans) species, which seems to be the most common frog in the park. Although Leopard Frogs and possibly Bullfrogs have been heard, I've never managed to get a picture of these other species.

If you want to see frogs, you have to be observant, as you can see by observing this picture of a Green Frog sitting on the bank of the pond.

Even though the basic colour of the frog is greenish, it blends in very well with the colour of the mud. That's particularly important at the new breeding pond, since there is, so far, very little plant material around the new pond which the frogs can use to hide from their predators.

These are actually some of the most co-operative frogs I've seen for some time. The one in the water allowed me to stick my camera practically right in its face and still didn't move.

All of the tadpoles I could see in the pond were within a about three meters on either side of the two frogs in the picture. You'd almost think they were watching out for the safety of the little tadpoles.

Next stop: Star of Bethlehem