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Ireland's Wildlife

Irish wildlife, nature and biodiversity

You are here: Home / Wild Blog / Wildlife Surveys / Hop to it: report your Irish frog sightings

Hop to it: report your Irish frog sightings

February 1, 2012 by Calvin Jones 20 Comments

Hop To It Irish Frog SurveyTo mark World Wetlands Day on Thursday the 2 February the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) is launching its annual ‘Hop To It Frog Survey’.  The survey helps the IPCC to map the distribution and habitat preferences of the Common Frog (Rana temporaria), Ireland’s most widespread and familiar amphibian species.

To do that they need help… and they’re calling on local wildlife enthusiasts from across the country all over country to send in records of their frog spawn, tadpoles, froglets and adult frogs.

One of the best places to start searching for frogs, says the IPCC, is in garden ponds.

“This man-made habitat will probably become increasingly important in future years, as the natural and wild habitats of the frog are lost to drainage and development,” said the organisation.

February and March are the peak times for frog spawning, although spawning can occur in January or even earlier in the south of the country if the temperature is mild enough, as has already been happening this year.

Since the first Hop To It frog survey in 1997, the IPCC has received more than 4,200 records. Although frogs are in decline worldwide, due to factors like habitat destruction, pollution and infectious disease, the results of the survey to date show that the Common Frog is widespread throughout the island of Ireland with 40% of records occurring in garden ponds.

The survey team is particularly keen to get frog records from counties that have been poorly represented in previous years: the six counties of Northern Ireland, Laois, Carlow and Leitrim.

The IPCC stresses that monitoring frog populations in this way is vital, and describes frogs as “barometers of environmental health” in wetland habitats. To check out where frogs have been found in your county before, or to download your survey card visit www.ipcc.ie or you can get them directly from the IPCC, Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare, Tel 045-860133

Filed Under: Wildlife Surveys Tagged With: common frog, IPCC, Rana temporaria, surveys

About Calvin Jones

Calvin Jones is a freelance writer, author, birder and lifelong wildlife enthusiast. He is founder and editor of IrelandsWildlife.com and founder and wildlife guide of Ireland's Wildlife Tours offering wildlife and birding holidays on Ireland's south coast.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sylvia healy says

    February 24, 2012 at 09:17

    Hi, we saw a common frog in Sandymount in Dublin this morning on the footpath.

    Reply
  2. Brendan sheppard says

    August 4, 2013 at 23:03

    Saw 2 frogs in garden last night, Clontarf.

    Reply
  3. Lorraine smith says

    March 16, 2014 at 18:30

    Neighbour has a small pond so every year we see a couple of frogs , this year there are loads. Counted 12 on our smallish patio and many more in the garden.there is frogspawn on the patio,in water filled plant pots etc. we are in dublin 14

    Reply
  4. Helen says

    May 21, 2014 at 09:44

    We have hundreds of tadpoles in our pond Rathfarnham Dublin .

    Reply
  5. Derek Fortune says

    June 5, 2014 at 13:57

    We seen a beautiful
    little small frog in the garden whilst cutting the grass in celbridge today. We don’t live near a pond or river.

    Reply
    • Donal says

      August 23, 2017 at 23:06

      Saw at least 5 of those mini frogs in my lawn while cutting the grass this evening. Ashtown Dublin 15

      Reply
  6. Brendan McMurray says

    July 29, 2014 at 14:37

    I caught two common frogs in a water feature in Ballsbridge, D4, I plan on depositing them in the Dodder.

    Reply
  7. Maggie Browne says

    August 16, 2014 at 14:53

    have come across two frogs so far today, in my garden in Dundrum County Tipperary

    Reply
  8. kieran millerick says

    June 14, 2015 at 19:18

    Seen a frog in barnfield ballymacoda county cork near a river

    Reply
  9. Pat Ferguson says

    June 18, 2015 at 09:11

    I saw a small tan/orange frog in poly tunnel in allotment in Malahide. Still there on day two.

    Reply
  10. Izzy Keogh says

    August 4, 2015 at 13:18

    While cutting the grass yesterday a dozen or more what appeared to be tiny grass frogs. All tan/ grey green in colour, all approx. 0.5 inches – cool little critters.
    Are these guys native to our shores, I can only fine references to these guys in Florida habitats.

    Reply
    • Calvin Jones says

      August 4, 2015 at 17:46

      Hi Izzy — we only have common frogs here in Ireland — the frogs you’re talking about are likely to be youngsters relatively recently emerged from a nearby pond or ditch and about to disperse into the wider world. I hope they escaped the mower :-).

      Reply
  11. Jean says

    August 11, 2015 at 20:15

    Hi I saw a small frog in the long grass just off a small stream in Castletown

    Reply
  12. Michael Brondi says

    September 20, 2016 at 23:22

    We hiked in Burren National Park today and saw an Irish frog on the top of Mullaghamore Mountain (190m)in the tall grass at the top. Its been raining for a while, puddles all around, and the frog seemed to agree with us that it was a good day to summit the mountain. Grand to know that they are still around and adventuring! Mike from Washington State, USA.

    Reply
  13. Dave says

    May 30, 2017 at 01:44

    Made a small garden pond at bottom of garden , county Sligo , see a frog hiding in there now .

    Reply
  14. Sharon says

    August 29, 2019 at 19:26

    Hi I had a frog in my garden around 6 weeks ago and we brought him to a pond area in a park near where we live,then this evening there was another frog,brown in colour,in my garden,not sure where they’re coming feom as there’s no pond in the garden,but lots of fruit trees and shrubbery too.In Dublin 15.

    Reply
  15. Aoife says

    March 7, 2021 at 16:31

    Spotted a fairly sizeable frog in our back garden when cleaning up leaves back in November. Left the leaves and spotted (I’m presuming) the same frog again a couple of weekends ago. We don’t have a pond and our garden is enclosed (with concrete walls around it) so not sure how it will get out if it needs to?

    Reply
  16. BRID Muldowney says

    April 4, 2021 at 19:27

    saw a large number of tadpoles in a pond on my brothers land in co leitrim last week.The date was March 30 2021.

    Reply
  17. Chris says

    July 24, 2021 at 23:42

    I found a frog in my garden during the heat wave we never seen them here before we live in Dundrum dublin

    Reply
  18. Geoff O'Connor says

    September 2, 2021 at 18:36

    For the past 3 years or more I take a daily walk on the royal canal between the Enfield Bridge and just past the aqueduct to the 4km mark. I rarely see frogs at all and never in the canal. In fact I can only remember seeing one prior to this year in the ditch.
    This year between the 2Km mark and the aqueduct I’ve come across 3 dead frogs on the path at a rate of about 1 a month. The fourth one yesterday I passed at about the 2Km mark on the way out. It was on its back and I assumed was dead. On my return an hour later the frog had somehow revived, righted itself and was struggling to move. It was moving more like a toad, each limb separately and was unable to hop, then he toppled on his back again. I righted the frog but I assume he was dying.
    I realise this may be normal, but for my 2Km patch it seems statically significant. There are lots of other unaffected wildlife around, it just seemed very odd . .

    Reply

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