I was lucky enough to have the camera with me today when I spotted this tadpole in the pond this morning. He wasn't moving, but I wouldn't expect him to in the cold water, some of which still has a thin layer of ice from overnight. I found it surprising that there would still be a tadpole at this time of year, but that just shows my ignorance. When I looked it up I discovered that some species of frogs, newts and toads overwinter as tadpoles and bullfrogs can take up to 3 years to complete their lifecycle. Our pond is so shallow, I had assumed that nothing other than insects would make it through a winter, but I'll be happy to be wrong.
I never knew that about tadpoles. I'll have to share this information with the grandson as he loves frogs.:)
ReplyDeleteI was just talking with a neighbour who said he had observed tadpoles in his pond and had never noticed them in the fall before, either. I really like that I can get to be this old and still see new things right around me.
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