The following is an occasional diary of amphibian spottings in our garden in Hackney, London. See also the Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK e-forum for related discussion.

7th August 2003

Our neighbour's pond with three of at least eight frogs - probably the Pool Frog Rana lessonae
	After the hot weather of the last few days (yesterday was London's hottest day ever at 35.9o C), the evenings are a cacophony of at least three different types of frog call from the surrounding gardens. The green Bombina has been coming and going for the last few days - it has either been wandering, or hiding at the bottom of the pond. The neighbours a couple of doors down also have a pond that has also attracted plenty of "local" amphibia. We paid them a visit with our camera and spotted several common frogs, one brown coloured Bombina orientalis and, excitingly, what look like Pool Frogs Rana lessonae. He says there are at least eight of them (photos left and above) that found their way to his pond when he dug it about two years ago. They spawned in the spring this year. They seem to tolerate the Bombina orientalis but are very territorial when any of the common frogs try to visit the pond.

30th July 2003

After an evening of heavy rain our garden is currently overrun by snails and common toads looking for supper. While trying to avoid stepping on any of the large toads, we almost missed the green Bombina exploring the wet patio. With a little coaxing, it soon hopped back to the pond, but not before getting photographed. This is the first time we have seen it out of water. We could also hear the tree frog(s?) calling and one distant hoop-hooping of what sounds like another Bombina.

Bombina orientalis relaxing by the pool

27th July 2003

There we were, feeling toadless, when what should turn up in our pond but yet another Bombina. A rather greener version this time but identified in an instant, with our new-found expertise, as a male (a quick burst of whistling from us soon got him hoop-hooping) Bombina orientalis.

So, the big question, what brought him to our pond now? Has he been waiting on the sidelines for his predecessors to abandon their territory? Did a couple of days very wet weather allow him to make his move? Or is one of our neighbours quietly releasing toads into the wilds of Hackney week by week? The mystery continues...

Bombina's back!

24th July 2003

Following further lengthy discussion on the Rauk e-forum we decided to accept an offer to rehome our toads from Gemma Fairchild (administrator of the e-forum and an expert in these things). Apparently the bombinas are unlikely to survive a UK winter and there is a chance that the Green Toad would cross-breed with native fauna. So, 10pm found us all outside round the pond armed with torches, buckets and nets. And we're pleased to say that our new friends didn't let us down. Just as the bombinas had been fished out of the pond, the Green Toad obligingly hopped past. And a couple of native frogs popped up to watch all the excitement. Admittedly none of exotics seemed too thrilled to find themselves in a bucket, but we're sure that they'll be very happy in their new home with Gemma. Ciao ciao bombina!

A fond farewell.

After all that excitement, we can now we can turn our attention to more mundane things - like stopping our pond from looking like thick, green, pea soup. According to Froglife all we need is a few Daphnia. Unfortunately, they are unlikely to be as photogenic as our recent visitors.

20th July 2003

Just popped out to say hello to our two Bombinas when we spotted yet another new arrival hopping towards us. It is about the size of a "normal" toad (~8cm), but with rather unusual colourings. It has a pale sandy coloured, slightly warty underside, with a slightly darker top but with striking green mottles. The warts on the side of the body are more orange coloured. Eyes have horizontal elliptical pupils with a slightly green mottled iris. It moved by jumping rather than walking. We must poll the neighbours to find out who is the local "keeper" of exotic herpetofauna.

Is this another exotic amphibian in our garden?

16th July 2003

After some lengthy discussion on the RAUK e-forum, it would appear that the two fire-bellies are Bombina orientalis. Normally found in Korea or pet shops, these are more commonly seen with green and black upper surfaces. The black spines on the warts and the orange toes positively identify them as B. orientalis. This collection of photos includes one very similar in colour to ours.

For the fourth night running, the Hyla arborea is back. It would appear to spend daylight hours elsewhere (up a tree?)

Hyla arborea sharing the pond with mosquito larvae

14th July 2003

We appear to have, not one, but two fire-bellied toads in our pond. For the first time we have seen them together. They both call at night, but at slightly different pitches. We have also heard similar calls from neighbouring gardens. Let's hope there are some females out there somewhere.

One fire-bellied toad...	...and the other one

12th July 2003

The 'small frog' (see entry 'Early July' below) turns out not to be a frog at all, but probably the fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina! We discovered this around dusk after a particularly hot day in London. We had a few friends over and were playing music in the back garden. We noticed a regular 'hoop-hoop-hoop' accompaniment to the music, sounding remarkably similar to the 'hoop-hoop' noise often produced by Brazilian Samba bands (which was playing at the time).

Not only was this rather loud noise being produced by our toad, but it had been transformed from a timid pond-diving creature into a much more assertive beast. Every time one of the much larger common frogs tried to surface in the pond, the toad would swim rapidly towards it and push it back down below the surface. Only in doing this, did we spot its bright orange underside. We managed to get some photos by temporarily transferring it to a large glass jar.

Fire-bellied toad

On the same evening we have had our fist sight this year of Hyla arborea. This is now the third year running we have seen this introduced species. Is it the same one, or are they breeding here? Speaking to our neighbour, she says the same frog/species has settled in a small goldfish bowl-size pond she has in her garden. This is the first time we have seen it in water - the previous occasions, after heavy rain, it has been found in our conservatory (see below) or climbing our outside wall.

European Tree frog - Hyla arborea

Early July 2003

The pond has turned murky green again, but this doesn't seem to have put off the frogs. The pond has a new resident - a small 3cm frog that seems much more timid than the larger frogs. If ever it sees us, even from several metres away, it dives down.

May 2003

By May, we have a couple of regular visitors/residents in the pond that has now cleared from its original murky green. On warm evenings we can hear the distinctive "rark-rark-rark" call of the Hyla arborea from somewhere in the surrounding trees. We also hear an occasional much louder 'rark' call - like a metallic version of a Magpie call.

March - June 2003

We have built ourselves a small pond partly in order to attract local amphibians. Dug in March 2003, it was too late for spawning frogs and toads, but we did provide a home for a pond skater within a day of it being filled. March... April... May... June

Sightings in 2002

August 13th, 2002

We found the following frog sitting in a plant pot in our conservatory after heavy rains in August. It is almost exactly a year since we spotted a similar one in our back garden. It looks like the tree frog Hyla arborea. Are they starting to colonise southern England?

	The frog is about 3cm in length with a pale sandy coloured underside. It has a dark grey line running along the side of its body from its eyes to hind legs. We found it sitting in a plant pot in our conservatory after what has been a couple of weeks heavy rain. Feet show elongated toes with enlarged sucker the end of each.