Star Slime! Mystery of ''tree frogspawn' solved

What leaves frog spawn six foot up a tree? There is a rational answer, and it doesn't involve a new breed of super-frog! Staff at Devon Wildlife Trust's Working Wetlands project recently made a surprise discovery when working on land near Roadford Lake, in north Devon. They were quickly able to identify the jelly-like substance as frog spawn but weren't able to fathom how it had come to be on a tree trunk. Project Manager Mark Elliott picks up the story: 'Finding frogspawn at this time in winter is not that unusual, especially the mild weather of the past week. But finding it up in a tree was. It's not something I'd come across before. Common frogs lay their spawn in water and it's there that tadpoles develop. Not in trees!' Mark took a photo of the frogspawn and sent it to Devon Biodiversity Records Centre for identification. It is DBRC's job to keep a central archive of the county's wildlife records. Staff there process thousands of biological sightings each year. The experience and expertise gained from this work meant that staff member Ellie Knot had seen similar cases before and was able to add an explanation to the puzzle. Ellie said: 'This kind of finding is commonly known as a 'star slime' - a lot of animals and birds eat frogs, but they don't eat their ovaries because the eggs or spawn contained in them expand massively when they come in to contact with water. This expansion would be enough to give anyone stomach-ache! Freshly laid spawn is fairly small - the eggs (in their jelly cases) are less than 5mm across, but once it has been around for a few hours the eggs expand to more than 1cm across. The clump of frogspawn usually ends up much larger than the frog that laid it. So, when birds, etc eat a frog they leave the ovaries behind, which then expand and burst when they get wet, leaving a clump of spawn.' 'In fact, it is not that uncommon to find frogspawn in trees - buzzards and crows will often take frogs, retreat to a nearby perch and then eat their prey there, leaving the ovaries and the spawn behind after their meal.' 

Working Wetlands staff were surprised to find this frogspawn in a tree high above the ground.

Photos copyright Mark Elliott, Devon Wildlife Trust

HUGE WILDLIFE HAVEN TO BE CREATED AT MEETH

A vast wildlife haven is to be created at the former Meeth Quarry, a 150 hectare site recently purchased by the Devon Wildlife Trust thanks to funding from Viridor Credits Environmental Company and generous individual donors. The Trust is now set to implement a programme of improvements for wildlife and local access thanks to financial support from Natural England. Meeth Quarry is a former clay works located close to Hatherleigh within the Northern Devon Nature Improvement Area and the North Devon Biosphere. 'The site is a spectacular, recovering landscape, with vast areas of open water, wet grassland, stone quarry face and woodland' said Matt Boydell, Devon Wildlife Trust's Land Manager. 'It incorporates six threatened wildlife habitats, supports 18 species of national importance and will provide a haven for a huge range of bird life, making it an excellent winter wildlife-watching destination for local communities '. There is currently no public access to the site, but the Quarry adjoins Devon Wildlife Trust's existing nature reserve at Ash Moor and is adjacent to the Tarka Trail, so the potential for public access and enjoyment is huge. Thanks in large part to the support of Natural England, Devon Wildlife Trust is able to carry out essential infrastructure and access work and plans to open the Quarry to the public in the spring. Natural England funding is also supporting essential work to preserve and enhance the sites biodiversity and wildlife value. 'Meeth Quarry has the potential to become a flagship nature reserve in the heart of the Northern Devon Nature Improvement Area' explained Harry Barton, DWT's Chief Executive. 'One that will offer year-round opportunities to see fascinating wildlife and a living demonstration of landscape restoration in action. There is still a lot to be done, but we will continue to work hard to secure the funding and resources needed to realize the full potential of this fantastic asset in terms of benefits to both wildlife and the wider community. ' 

To find out more about Meeth or any of Devon Wildlife Trust's 47 other nature reserves then visit www.devonwildlifetrust.org 

Barn owls could be amongst the local wildlife to prosper at Devon Wildlife Trust's new nature reserve at Meeth, near Hatherleigh (photo copyright DWT)

Devon Wildlife Trust staff begin surveying their new nature reserve - the former clay quarries at Meeth, near Hatherleigh (photo copyright DWT)

Slip, sliding away Peppercombe

Happy New Years Day and a walk down to Peppercombe Meadows. It's dark and dank in the wooded valley with signs of slippage and erosion as a result of the non-stop heavy rains. Looking over the bridge by the Pink Cottage I can see a mud fall slithering down to the stream and round the bend, up on the bank, where one of the big old trees fell last month, a holly tree has now been uprooted. The abundant ferns are still green and new wildflower shoots are appearing on the verges by the path which is furrowed from the torrential rain. A low brooding light out on the meadows and above an almost motionless Peregrine Falcon fixed on its prey below. I took some photos, as the sun came out for just a moment. A blue haze washed over Bideford Bay, Lundy and Clovelly were faint but visible. There were a few walkers braving the coast path and families exploring the rock pools on the beach. A few days later we were back and arrived to see a Cormorant diving down as the waves broke on the shore.On this walk I noticed more casualties of the winter storms, one of the old trees which had arched across the path for years was now a pile of logs on the wayside and the end wall of the old stable block had completely gone, the rubble slip-sliding away.