Essich, Inverness: At first I saw nothing apart from dead plants, then several pond snails and suddenly some movement and a three-spined stickleback. But where were the frogs?
The small pond is on the side of a very narrow road and most people would pass it without a second glance. It is a favourite of mine, and so it was with anticipation that last week, carrying a pond net, I decided to take a closer look. I was concerned at the colony of frogs that last year seemed to be decimated by various predators including herons. There is something special about pond-dipping as there is always the wonder and curiosity about peering in the net after the dip.
As is often the case at this time of year, there was no sign of life, although most pond dwellers are secretive. Reports of the first local frogs' spawn, albeit near the coast, had reached me and I thought the frogs might just be at the pond. There was no sign of any frogs or spawn which would have been in clumps and quite noticeable. I dipped into the far side of a bank of weed and with indecent haste pulled the net towards me. The first thrill of looking into a pond net when I was a youngster has never left me, and it was still there as I looked into the dark mass at the bottom of the white net.
At first there seemed nothing apart from dead plants, and then there were several pond snails and then – how exciting – a movement and there was a stickleback. It was the most common of all the sticklebacks, the three-spined, and it was a male already showing a flush of red along its flanks and throat. I always look carefully, hoping I might just see a very rare spineless one. They occur in Loch Ruthven, only a few miles away, so there is always a chance. I caught several more sticklebacks but still no sign of the frogs and I just hope it was just too early for them. A return visit is called for: any excuse to go to my favourite pond.