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What our animals are doing this month

What our animals are doing this month… November 2020

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We’ve recently covered what our amphibians and reptiles are up to over the autumn months, the differences in their overwintering behaviour and where they may spend the colder seasons in structures such as hibernacula. 

It might surprise many however to hear that November can be a month for sighting Common Frogspawn in the south of England.  Common frogs usually begin breeding and laying spawn as spring commences – often with sightings in January and February into spring depending on their location in the UK.  But areas in Cornwall do report sightings of frogspawn before winter even fully commences.

This behaviour could be due to confusion during mild autumn and winter months that we can experience now in the UK or might be a strategy to get ahead of the game in terms of breeding times – albeit it with a huge risk of freezing temperatures affecting the survivability of the spawn.

This could be one sign of more to come in terms of our amphibians adapting to the effects of climate change and seasonal differences their behaviour isn’t quite adapted to.  It’s so important that we can monitor these yearly trends in our amphibian and reptile species to help inform our work at Froglife and you can help by submitting your sightings using the Dragon Finder App – available for free on Android and iPhone devices!

Frogspawn in November? Surely not! But this sighting can occur in mild autumns in the south of England

What our animals are doing this month… October 2020

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October is truly a season of change for our native flora and fauna. As the temperature drops, vegetation starts to die back and our days get shorter, our native amphibians and reptiles start to get ready to face the challenge of winter. 

Why is winter so challenging for our native Dragons?! Amphibians and reptiles are both ectotherms, meaning that they rely on external sources of body heat compared to endotherms, such as mammals, which are capable and dependent on internal generation of heat. This means that amphibians and reptiles have to find a way to navigate through the drop in external temperature, frozen watery homes, reduction in water oxygen levels and, often unforgiving, winter weather.

Each species has clever adaptions and behavioural changes that they go through each year between September and November for them to survive this wintery challenge.

It is a common misconsception that all amphibians and reptiles hibernate over winter, even though they will all be seeking hibernacula at a similar time, the type they need can differ from species to species as well as if they hibernate or overwinter.  For example, the common lizard will be spending October feeding on invertebrates in preparation for winter before hibernating, often in groups, amongst rocks or dead wood.

Common Lizard

Whereas, our newt species overwinter and go dormant under rocks or buried in mud, but take advantage of milder weather to forage.

Palmate Newt

For more info on what individual species do over winter have a look at our fatastic amphibian and reptile fact files! Click here!

By early October most of our reptile species will have entered their winter hibernation. The majority of the UKs reptile species will have favoured hibernating sites, such as the Adder who will return to their wintering sites that they use each year. With Adders often basking in the last of the autumnal sunshine until the end of October when they become dormant for the colder months.

Adder

Some species, particularly slow-worms, common lizards and grass snakes, will make use of piles of dead logs, leaves or compost for the winter. It is important that reptiles are not disturbed during their hibernation period since it takes them longer to recover if they have to become active.

An amazing way to help our fantastic amphibians and reptiles is to consider them when planning your wildlife garden. One of my favourite things to do is create a hibernaculum, an amazing space for all amphibians and reptiles to hunt, forage and of course over winter. They are so simple to do and can make such a difference! If you are short on space you could also make a ‘toad home’!

Would you like to create more overwintering ad hibernating homes for wildlife? Create new habitats for emerging amphibians and reptiles in Spring?

For more information click here. Download here

We would love to see pictures of all your hard work! Send in your before and after photos or gardening selifes to info@froglife.org

What our animals are doing this month… September 2020

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For one of our native species of snake, the adder, September is a key month with changes in behaviour.  Approaching the autumn months, adders will begin returning to their overwintering sites from September with individuals often being site faithful.  Once back towards these sites they will still spend time basking until late October when it is likely overwintering behaviour will begin.

September can be a great month to spot adders as they will be basking in the open for longer periods of time in sunny spells as the season starts to cool.  Our adders are identified by a dark ‘zig-zag’ pattern running down their backs, a red iris with a vertical pupil and usually body lengths of 60 – 80cm.

Overwintering sites, or hibernacula, are often found on sunny, south-facing embankments.  These sheltered spots will offer protection from frosty weather, wet conditions and also from predators.  Old mammal burrows, accessible tree stumps/root systems, tussocks, rockeries and piles of dead wood are good examples of places an adder can call home for the cold winter months.

Adders are known however to bask in some quite cold conditions if it is sunny.  Basking areas will have to be exposed to the sun of course, but adders will prefer areas with long vegetation nearby, usually their own bodies length away in case of passing predators.

September is a great month to spot adders (from a distance) and record your sightings for Froglife!

What our animals are doing this month… August 2020

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As we approach the end of summer the juveniles of our rarest and largest native newt will be going through metamorphosis. They may begin to emerge from their pond in August or in following months depending on their development. 

Great crested newt larvae will spend more time at the deeper areas of a pond as they reach the end of their development period and their swimming ability is reduced.  Larvae develop best in warmer waters, metamorphosis can be slowed in cooler conditions and in ponds that are shaded.  Larvae develop whilst feeding on a variety of prey items in the pond including a range of aquatic invertebrates and amphibian larvae.

Great crested newt larvae can reach sizes of 50 – 90mm before undertaking metamorphosis – when they become suited to life in and out of the pond.  The great crested newt’s skin develops glands during metamorphosis, containing toxins making them unpalatable to most predators.  By September onwards newts will begin seeking areas to overwinter in – seeking shelter from the weather during the colder months.  However it’s not impossible to see great crested newt larvae in the pond during winter if development was slowed down.

August can be a key month for the metamorphosis of great crested newt larvae

What our animals are doing this month… July 2020

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July can be a great month to see our common toad complete metamorphosis and become toadlets.  It usually takes around two to four weeks for tadpoles to hatch out from the egg and roughly sixteen weeks for tadpoles to reach the stage where legs have developed.  This is often affected by the water temperature in the pond as well as numbers of larvae present and food availability – as tadpoles are busy eating algae in the pond for their nutrition.  Toadlets will form legs, absorb their tails, form lungs to breathe out of the water and eventually leave their pond to head out onto land.

You may have been lucky enough to see toadlets emerge, in huge numbers, in previous years near ponds.  They won’t move too far from their breeding pond however as they will be busy foraging and developing in summer and early autumn to get ready for the overwintering period.  Emergence occurs in higher numbers after periods of rainfall at any time of day.

Keep an eye out from July onwards for emerging toadlets!

What our animals are up to this month… June 2020

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June most likely sees the final time of the season for mating behaviour in two of our native lizards – the common lizard and the slow-worm.  These behaviours will start being exhibited in late April.  Both of these species’ males will fight as rivals if they encounter each other in breeding territories.  Females will mate with multiple males over the course of the breeding season and, if observed, both species engage with a powerful bite and grasp that could be mistaken for fighting behaviour.

Mating behaviour in slow-worm is rarely observed with activity occurring underground or amongst thick vegetation for this reptile species which spends much time away from prying eyes!  Females are known to breed every second year with breeding condition reached at a length of 28cm.  The amount of mating in a season is dependent on the temperature across spring and early summer – with higher temperatures leading to increased mating activity.  Males and females become entwined during breeding for a period of up to ten hours.

Common lizard mate on warm sunny days with males chasing receptive females.  Studies show a male’s bigger body size is preferred in female’s mate selection strategies.  Females are less selective with their first mate, after which they go ‘up the ladder’ with their selections, choosing males in better body condition.