In early Spring adult frogs wake up from their
long Winter sleep and start making their way to breeding pools.
Some frogs can travel as far as one mile to the pond which is
a long distance if all you can do is hop or crawl. When the frogs
reach the pond, breeding begins with the male croaking loudly
to attract the female.
FROG SPAWN
When he finds a female he grabs
her from behind with the help of special pads on his fore limbs
and holds on as tight as he can. As soon as the female releases
her eggs into the water they are fertilised by the male.
JELLY BABIES
The eggs or frogspawn are surrounded
by jelly, which absorbs water, swells up, and floats to the surface
of the pond where the sun warms it. One clump of frogspawn can
contain up to 4,000 eggs.
TADPOLE TERRORS
After about 10 days a tadpole
wriggles out of each egg. At first the tadpole breathes and moves
like a fish, using its gills and long tail, but after about five
weeks the gills disappear and the tadpole develops lungs. It
then has to swim to the surface of the water to gulp air. The
tadpole has fleshy lips with rows of teeth for rasping away at
water plants and by seven weeks it also eats insects and even
other tadpoles.
FROGLET
By eight weeks the back legs
have formed and by ten to eleven weeks the front legs have also
appeared. At twelve to fourteen weeks the tail disappears and
the tiny froglet is ready to leave the water. It will take three
years before the froglet reaches maturity and the cycle starts
all over again.
When he finds a female he grabs
her from behind with the help of special pads on his fore limbs
and holds on as tight as he can. As soon as the female releases
her eggs into the water they are fertilised by the male. 
The eggs or frogspawn are surrounded
by jelly, which absorbs water, swells up, and floats to the surface
of the pond where the sun warms it. One clump of frogspawn can
contain up to 4,000 eggs. 
After about 10 days a tadpole
wriggles out of each egg. At first the tadpole breathes and moves
like a fish, using its gills and long tail, but after about five
weeks the gills disappear and the tadpole develops lungs. It
then has to swim to the surface of the water to gulp air. The
tadpole has fleshy lips with rows of teeth for rasping away at
water plants and by seven weeks it also eats insects and even
other tadpoles. 
By eight weeks the back legs
have formed and by ten to eleven weeks the front legs have also
appeared. At twelve to fourteen weeks the tail disappears and
the tiny froglet is ready to leave the water. It will take three
years before the froglet reaches maturity and the cycle starts
all over again.