It all started on February 21st
Having cleaned out the ‘pond’ a week earlier a courting couple left their calling card.
The ‘pond’ is really a bird-bath.
It used to be a shower tray for Homo sapiens but the birds don't seem to mind.
There were frequent frosts in March 2025.
The pond never froze completely solid but on several days the surfaced remained frozen all day.
Even though these tadpoles looked dead they all seemed to survive.
The frilly bits on their heads are external gills. They become covered by the operculum and function as internal gills until the lungs develop when the gills are absorbed - upcycling at its best. Amphibians have been doing it for ca. 360 million years, whereas Homo sapiens has barely started.
An ant shows that walking on water is no big deal.
The tadpoles, unimpressed by such exhibitionism, were very fond of ‘sunbathing’ in the littoral. Very risky! Beware blackbirds.
Once all had hatched the wire netting was removed.
The tadpoles got an occasional treat; boiled lettuce. Not that they needed it, whereas the indoor lot did. Both consumed it with gusto. THE END.
Duncan Linklater © 2025