As February draws to a close, the first signs of life begin to stir in the reptile, amphibian, and fish worlds. Join us on February 21st to explore the fascinating behaviors of slowworms emerging from hibernation, frogs and toads embarking on their romantic quests, and the subtle movements of fish beneath the water's surface. Discover the unique adaptations and survival strategies of these creatures as they awaken from their winter slumber. Don't miss this captivating look at the early signs of spring in our ponds, lakes, and rivers. Mark your calendars and prepare to witness the awakening of nature's hidden wonders!
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Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Towards the end of February, particularly if it is mild, there is a chance of seeing both reptiles and amphibians. Among our reptiles the harmless slowworm or blindworm is the first to come out of hibernation. They spend the winter tangled together in soft earth on warm slopes such as south facing railway embankments. They are not blind at all but just possess tiny eyes which when looked at closely have an orange iris and an eyelid. Males are a light metallic brown and slightly darker underneath whereas females are all together a darker brown. They nearly always move slowly except if distressed in any way when their sudden writhing can come as quite a shock. Our other reptiles are all still asleep, although some adders and lizards are known to make their first appearance if the weather is warm especially towards the end of the month.
Frogs, toads and even newts can all start their romantic quests to find females in February which generally means making their way to a suitable water body. Common frogs and toads are widespread with toads preferring deeper ponds. Newts show a marked preference for ponds set near woodland, scrub or pasture as well as garden ponds. The best places to see all of them are in the boroughs which possess the most ponds i.e. Bromley, Havering and Enfield. Frogs are thought to be able to smell algae which may help them on their journey as they are usually the first to arrive and start croaking. When newts arrive they seem to show little interest in females. Toads are slower generally, with their heavy cumbersome gait. This causes many of them to be killed while crossing roads. However, it is swings and roundabouts as frog losses are also great due to predation from herons, ducks, crows and rats.
None of these predators seem to show any interest in toads due to their unpleasant secretions. Once a dog has picked up a toad it never seems to do it again. Although harmless to our skin these secretions are quite another matter if you touch your eyes or lips after handling a toad.
Any frogs encountered are usually a similar colour to their surroundings. Their smooth moist skin can change colour due to sensitive pigment cells but does so only slowly. Any dry, warty toads seen will also be a similar colour to their background within the range of dark brown, clay to sandy. Male frogs tend to be smaller than females and not so yellow underneath, whereas both sexes of toads are alike. Their eyes are quite different, yellow with black dots in the case of the common frog and either blood red or gold in the toad. In the past, frogs had a bad time of it. People believed if you harmed a frog you were also harming your enemy. Consequently, they were often terribly mutilated and even buried alive. If a person suffered from fits they were encouraged to put a frog into a bag and wear it around their neck. There was a general misapprehension that Beelzebub, who was responsible for fits, preferred to enter the body of a frog rather than an epileptic.
At the bottom of London’s lakes and ponds most fish are still lying motionless, although some carp will be sifting mud and causing bubbles to rise to the surface. Elsewhere, deep in the Thames, elvers are starting to move upriver and sticklebacks are still very active at the edges of rivers but have not yet donned their courting colours.
