Now, having grown up in rural Norfolk, the local wildlife has always captivated me. From spending weekends marvelling at the peregrines circling the Norwich Cathedral to dark winter mornings shivering in a hide at Strumpshaw Fen, if there is one thing you can rely on Norfolk for it is its wealth of wildlife.
However, little were we (myself and my fiancée Sarah) expecting to stumble across a wildlife wonder right on our doorstep…
漏Elliott Simpson
Every winter through to spring, the horse’s field would flood in the central low-point, leading to a temporary pond, lasting only a few months. This year, however, we noticed something different. Adjacent to the usual dark-centered frogspawn, was a sea of brilliantly white-centered frogspawn. At first assuming that the collection were simply ‘dead’ eggs, the temptation was to remove the white-centered mass and dispose of it for the fear of somehow influencing the regular frogspawn.
Whilst deciding what to do with the white frogspawn, we decided to remove the mass from the temporary pond to a fish tank, out of danger of potential predation; as we had the smallest of niggles in the back of our minds saying to keep it safe, just to see what happened. And, lo and behold, they hatched! A phenomenal number of white tadpoles!
漏Elliott Simpson
With very little reported on these in the UK, we are now keenly dedicated to the documented development of these fascinating amphibians, and look forward to sharing the story of their growth.
漏Elliott Simpson