Just over a year ago the Herpetological Society of Ireland (HSI) was called out to a site in Kildare where hundreds of common frogs were lying dead. Thankfully, one year on things seem to have improved, but the exact cause of the mass mortality remains a mystery... Rob O'Sullivan, PR Officer with the HSI explains. On the 24th of February last year, The … [Read more...] about Frogs bounce back at Kildare site after unexplained 2014 deaths
common frog
Cork wildlife group needs frog survey volunteers
Frogs play an important role in our lives; they are great pest controllers in our gardens and on farms by eating slugs, worms and flies, while otters and herons rely on frogs to supplement their diets.Ireland has only one native frog species, the common frog, Rana temporaria. It is listed as an internationally important species and is protected under the Habitats Directive … [Read more...] about Cork wildlife group needs frog survey volunteers
Hop to it: report your Irish frog sightings
To 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 … [Read more...] about Hop to it: report your Irish frog sightings
Common Frog (Rana temporaria)
Of the three species of amphibian found in Ireland the common frog is by far the most familiar. Most people think of frogs as aquatic creatures, but in fact they spend most of their lives on land, only returning to the water in order to breed. Adult frogs are from 6-10cm (2.4-4 inches) long. They are smooth skinned, tailless amphibians with powerful hind legs that are … [Read more...] about Common Frog (Rana temporaria)
Frogspawn in early January
Spring, it seems, has come early to Ireland this year. On Saturday the 07 of January I spotted a clump of frogspawn in a roadside ditch beside a small lake not far from the house.Frogspawn, in West Cork, laid the first week of January. That’s just nuts!Common Frogs normally emerge from hibernation around the middle of February -- but this year it seems the abnormally … [Read more...] about Frogspawn in early January