Frog Chorus

Lade - 0530hrs - cool start, warm later, sunny, sw2 - The huge south lake at Lade pits is now smothered in a rapidly growing water weed which has attracted large numbers of common wildfowl, grebes, Coots and the like to feed. The floating plant matter is perfect for Marsh Frogs to flop into and call from dusk, through the night (the `laughing`sound travels over a mile on a still night) and into the next morning; I counted over 100 doing the `frog chorus`in a small area of the lake by Scaffold island this morning. These large, lime green brutes have pretty much displaced our indigenous Common Frog and are found across the still waters, sewers and ditches of the Romney Marshes, and nearby Rye Harbour and Pett Levels. With all this potential food on offer it was no surprise to note several Marsh Harriers quartering the lake and at least a dozen Grey Herons and 5 Little Egrets stalking the shallows.
RSPB - AM - Thought I`d better check around the hives as the Baitdigger had a Bee-eater over his cottage earlier on. No sign of the multi-coloured job, although the apiarist was on site `winding up` his swarm. The GWEgret was reported from Dengemarsh and it now appears there could be 2 pairs of Bitterns on site. A quick look from Hanson revealed 2 Blackwits and a Wood Sandpiper amongst decent numbers of Lapwings, Redshanks, Ringed Plovers and LRPs - surely its only a matter of time before a goodie wader drops onto ARC...

Marsh Frog, Lade - Introduced from Hungary in 1935 to ponds at Stone-in-Oxney and now widespread across the Greater Romney Marsh, from Pett Level to Hythe.