Donal Hickey: Time for frog-spotting

Some readers have been in touch about the movement of frogs, which is timely as these fascinating creatures now emerge from hibernation.

You can see them on damp nights following traditional routes to their wetland spawning grounds.

Unfortunately, many can be squashed and killed by traffic as they cross roads on their way to suitable ponds in search of a mate. Our common frog is listed as an internationally important species and is protected under EU and Irish wildlife laws.

Equally at home in land and water, you think of William Henry Dawson’s poem, ‘The Frog’: He don’t fret ‘bout rainy weather/If the sun shines, he don’t cry/He just takes it all together/Happy wet and happy dry.

The frog also features in folklore and is associated with magic, the supernatural, and witches. And we have met people who believe the colour of frogs can be used to predict the weather: if the skin is dark, it’s a sign of rain while if the skin is brown or yellow, fine weather is on the way.

But there’s a more practical reason for colour changes in the wonderfully decorated patterns on a frog’s skin. These patterns help disguise the frog from predators such as rats, herons, and hedgehogs. A frog can also change its skin colour to match its surrounding environment.

Frogs are found in every county and Nuala Madigan, of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC), is asking people to take part in their annual, all-Ireland Hop To It Frog Survey.

“The frog has a short lifecycle and, combined with the fact we know so much about the various stages of its lifecycle, it is an ideal species to monitor and help indicate to us changes in our environmental quality,” she says.

You can find frogs in a pond in your garden or anywhere there’s water. You might also hear male frogs croak. In folklore, frogs were seen as creatures of the underworld, said to be familiar with druids and witches.

When they croaked it was believed to be a warning to a mistress witch of imminent danger. However, the reason for all the noise is far more basic — the call of the male to females during the breeding season.

Frogs are considered the gardener’s friends as they feed on slugs that might be feasting on your newly-planted vegetables, according to Nuala Madigan. Europe imports millions of frogs from around the world for the pet trade. Hard though to see too many Irish people having a frog for a pet.

- For the Hop To It survey, people can email sightings to [e-mail] or through the IPCC, website