Frogs and Toads.

With the first signs of spring and a bit of warmth from the sun more life begins to return and awake in our wetlands. One of the main species to begin increasing in number are the Frogs and Toads who make use of the smaller pockets of water to spawn, first they must make the often dangerous journey to reach these areas and more often then not we'll see them squashed on roads as they try to make their way from where they've slept away the winter months. This year it seems like they might find life very hard going because after a few days of spring we seem to be heading back into the depth of winter once more but with a little luck they should still have a good breeding season.

What wetlands offer them is the perfect conditions to survive, they don't tend to be found in the larger bodies of water but head for the smaller ponds that are prepared especially for them. Over the years a decrease in ponds in the countryside because of changing farming practices and even in our gardens has meant that they found life pretty hard, added to this a higher mortality rate dew to cat numbers and deaths reaching the limited areas where they can breed has now made there homes within our wetlands even more important then ever.  

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/5.6

Expo- 50sec

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 55mm

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/7.1

Expo- 125secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 41mm

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/14

Expo- 40secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 55mm

What I like about this collection of Toad photos is the fact it catches them on the way to there breeding sight with the smaller male being carried of the larger females back, in the above image you can really see how he grips really hard onto her so as not to fall off as she hops along. They may not be the prettiest creature but there something that is really benefiting from the protection offer from wetland habitats.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/11

Expo- 400sec

ISO- 1000

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 100mm

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/11

Expo- 320secs

ISO- 1000

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 100mm

Another cog in the wetland ecosystem covered now all I'm missing to really round up this assignment is some good wetland landscapes and some more work on how people interact within the environment and I think I might at last be getting somewhere.