Love is in the air, or at least amplexus!

So not long after valentines day theres still a little loving going on, well i say loving primal instincts! (don't worry its not me) its my population of Common Frogs that have been in my garden for well over 10 years since i put in a pond and last year i extended it have a gradual decline and deeper area for hibernation. I also put plenty of water plants in which provides cover and keeps the water clear.

Ponds are without a doubt the best way to attract wildlife to your pond

Rocks provide shelter for the frogs and the bare patch of soil behind the pond has been sowed with wild flower seeds so in the spring and summer plenty of inverts for them to eat.

The frogs tend to be mainly nocturnal so going at night often means you see more 

On some of the rainy nights i could find them in Amplexus (latin for embrace) where the male holds on until the female releases the frogspawn which can be a few weeks depending on temperature.

The reddish skin colour is one of many colours they come in

Despite there name common frogs aren't all that common any more with a estimated 1 million ponds being lost in the last century in the UK these frogs prefer shallow weedy areas to hide from predators and give there young the best chance. One point with my frogs is a good few are reddish in colour a genetic quirk, these frogs come in all kinds of colours from black, brown to greenish tints.

Once together the frogs become very approachable with all thoughts on breeding

I have fond memories as a child keeping tadpoles in a tank and watching them grow and each year still get like a little kid watching them grow in my pond.

BBC Wildlife Local Patch Reporter
Jack Perks

@JackPerksPhoto
Facebook: Jack Perks Photography
Website: www.jackperksphotography.com

Welcome To My Patch

Myself snorkeling for zander

So firstly let me introduce myself, my name is Jack Perks a Nottingham based wildlife photographer covering all wildlife but a special interest in our freshwater species, which often leads me into underwater photography. I've always had interest in nature long before photography came into my life and I’ve been lucky for the most part of my life living in the local area and exploring parts people often over look.

Map of the area i'm mainly be sticking to

Here’s the area I’m focusing on part of the Trent Valley on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire boarder and the three main water courses that I’ll be exploring will be Fairham Brook, Nottingham Canal & The River Trent all very different waterways with unique wildlife as well as finding wildlife closer to home in my own garden. Fairham Brook is a small stream, which despite its urban location holds an amazing amount of wildlife. Nottingham Canal is still in use mainly for pleasure boats and siting’s of kingfisher are not uncommon, Finally the mighty River Trent the third largest river in the country, home to over 30 species of fish and recently otter siting’s something I’ll be chasing up.

European Eels can be found thoughout the River Trent

I’ll be covering a different species each week and describing ways I’ve photographed it as well as some taxonomy of the subject.

J

www.jackperksphotography.com