As spring approaches and the days get longer and warmer, frogs, toads and newts can be found making their way to bodies of water for mating and reproduction. Tirzah Bottomley, former Assistant Reserves Officer at the Trust, tells us more about the fascinating mating rituals of our resident amphibians.

The first amorous amphibian off the mark is usually the Common Frog which can breed as early as January but is most frequently seen from February onwards. Toads and newts tend to be a little later and usually start reproducing in March. Saying this, amphibian breeding is being observed earlier every year, this is due to warmer temperatures caused by our changing climate. 

Toads

The Common Toad can be found throughout mainland Britain and spends most of the year on land. Every year come spring, toads migrate to the same pond they were spawned in to breed. They use the same route to travel to these ponds and can travel up to a kilometre on warm, damp evenings.

When it comes to mating, the male toads must fight to impress the females. Once the male catches the female’s attention he jumps on her back and grasps on using nuptial pads. The resulting position is called amplexus, during which the male can fertilise the eggs as they are laid by the female. Mating can be extremely competitive and can often result in mating balls. This is where more than one male will try to form amplexus with a female and can sometimes sadly result in the female dying.

Toad eggs are usually seen under the surface and are in long thin strands. Common Toad eggs are in double strands whilst the much rarer Natterjack Toad eggs can be identified by a single strand. 

Frogs

The Common Frog usually hibernates near breeding ponds and can start breeding in colder conditions than toads. This gives them a head start against other amphibians, which can be advantageous, but it can also put the eggs at risk of freezing. The mating process of frogs is remarkably like that of toads. The male frog attracts the female by croaking and a successful male will hop onto the female and form amplexus. He fertilises the eggs as the female lays them and often must fight off other males with his hind legs at the same time! Frogs can lay up to 2000 eggs per season, which form clumps on the surface known as frogspawn.

Newts

Our three native newt species here in the UK – Smooth Newt, Palmate Newt and Great Crested Newt - all head to ponds to breed in the spring. The males must put their best foot forward and impress female newts with a courtship display to win the opportunity to mate. A victorious male will drop its spermatophore, a capsule of sperm cells, that the female will collect into her cloaca for fertilisation. The female then lays individual eggs into vegetation and protects each of them by folding the leaf over the egg.

Please do not disturb breeding amphibians or their eggs. Moving them can cause the spread of disease and invasive species between ponds as well as disturbing these incredible creatures’ life cycle.

Find out more

Discover more fascinating facts about these amphibians on our Wildlife Explorer pages here. 

Our Balls Wood Nature Reserve in Hertford Heath, and Old Park Wood Nature Reserve in Harefield are great places to visit and observe amphibian signs of life – click on the links for more information.