Country diary: tantric embraces and nuptial pads - the secrets of frog sex revealed

Bamford, Derbyshire: Unseasonably cold March weather has made life difficult for mating frogs in the UK. But in this pond it seems not to have cooled their ardourThe week-long blast of cold Siberian air had left me wondering: what about the frogs? In recent years I've noticed that the places where I used to find them have gradually dwindled. Would this late winter make things worse? In early March, in the mild air that followed, I checked a pond that would ordinarily be heaving with scores of loved-up frogs, males croaking as night fell. This year: nothing. Related: Specieswatch: spring ice has made life hard for the common frog Continue reading...