KILDARE WILDLIFE WATCH: Frogs - Masters of disguise

The Irish Peatland Conservation Council launched its annual Hop To It Frog Survey 2024 on World Wetlands Day 2024.

This survey is the longest citizen science frog survey in Ireland, and since it was established, members of the public from counties all over Ireland have sent in their observations of the common frog (Loscann as Gaeilge).

The common frog has smooth, moist skin and powerful hind legs that allow them to jump great distances. Frogs begin their lives as eggs, known as ‘frog spawn’.

In spring, after the eggs hatch, tadpoles emerge. Tadpoles live in water and breathe through gills. As they grow, however, their bodies undergo many changes, and by the time they have become adult frogs (early summer) they are able to live on land and breathe air through lungs.

The great change that takes place during the development of a frog is known as ‘metamorphosis’. Did you know tadpoles are vegetarians, but as they grow their feeding habits change completely; by the time they are adult frogs they have become carnivores.

Adult frogs, meanwhile, feed mainly at night around the edges of ponds, using their long, sticky tongues to capture flying insects and beetles or to ensnare slugs and snails — their staple foods.

Frogs like natural damp habitats in woodlands, bogs, fens and gardens. They need freshwater to breed and prefer ponds that have good plant cover and shallow water at the edge so that they can easily climb out unseen. Frogs have good hearing.

Just behind the eye is a large eardrum that leads to the rest of the ear, which is located inside the head. They also have good eyesight. When frogs leap, they draw their eyes back into their sockets to protect them from damage.

Each eye has special moisture-producing glands that prevent the eye from drying out in the air. Each time the frog croaks, a vocal sac, that is loose skin, on its throat expands.

Frogs make lots of different sounds, especially during the breeding season.

Become a citizen scientist this spring submit your frog observations to the IPCC at www.ipcc.ie or call us on 045-860133.

 - Nuala Madigan from the Bog of Allen Nature Centre