Every year IPCC needs the help of people all over Ireland to record where frogs, spawn and tadpoles occur in the Hop to It Irish Frog Survey

Hop to It Irish Frog Survey Card

All you have to do when you find frog spawn, tadpoles, adult frogs or froglets is fill in the survey card. Make sure to give us all the information we have asked for, especially where the pond is. You can also add any other information you think is important, like a map or extra comments. Put these on an extra page with the survey card when you post it to us.

Then as soon as you have filled in the card, send it back to us to the email or postal address shown on the survey card. Make sure each card is returned as soon as it is filled in so that we can start putting your information into our computer as soon as possible. And remember to check in regularly to the website to see the results as they come in. So Hop to It! and find those frogs.

Name of Frog Site Location:.............................................................................................................

Nearest Town: .............................................................................. County: .......................................

Grid Reference for Site: ...................................................... Altitude: ............................. m

Location of Frog Site: Please specify whether the site is in the inner city, a city suburb or in the countryside: .....................................

Numbers Seen: Please record the date and the number of clumps of frog spawn,
individual tadpoles, froglets and adult frogs seen using the following codes:

A: 1 B: 2-9 C: 10-29 D: 30-100 or more

Frog Life Cycle Stage	Date	Number Seen
1 Frog spawn clumps
2 Swimming tadpoles
3 Tadpoles with back legs
4 Froglets with four legs and stumpy tail
5 Adult Frogs

Type of Site:

Please specify the type of site (e.g. pond, bog pool, ditch, drain, stream or other). Please indicate whether the water is still or moving and give a diameter of ponds and pools in metres: ....................................

...............................................................................................................................................


Habitat Surrounding Breeding Site:

Please specify the habitat surrounding the breeding site (e.g. bog, heathland, lake, marsh, grassland, farmland, woodland, forest, sand dune or other): ......................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................................

Potential Threats

Please specify any potential threats that you observe in the surrounding landscape (e.g. habitat destruction, ammonium nitrate fertiliser, fire, drainage, predators): .....................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

Is this the first record you are sending in for this site? ...............................................

IPCC would be delighted to accept any pictures of the habitat, the frog lifecycle stage or threats to the habitat you observe . Please forward any pictures to bogs@ipcc.ie or post your photographs to the Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare

Your Name: ....................................................................................................................

Your Address: .............................................................................................................................................................

Telephone: ....................................................................................................................

E-mail: ....................................................................................................................

1 Stay Safe Always go frog watching with a parent or guardian you know well and can trust. Make sure you are dressed for the weather. Ponds can be cold and deep so be careful. Don't stand or wade into water. Never splash other people. Cover any cuts or scratches with waterproof plasters. Don't get water, or anything that has been in the water in your mouth. It could make you ill. Take all litter home with you.	5 So that we can see how successful different places are for breeding frogs we would like you to re-visit (if possible) the place where you found spawn and tell us if tadpoles develop and what stage they reach. Even if no froglets or tadpoles are seen we would like you to tell us on the survey card - it will help us to decide which are the best and worst breeding habitats for frogs.
2 You should start looking for frog spawn from the middle of January onwards. Small tadpoles can be found from the end of February onwards.	6 You can visit and record more than one pond - just fill in the survey sheet for each site you visit.
3 Ponds, pools and stagnant water are the best places to look for frog spawn - but you could find it in streams, bog pools or even in an old bath tub.	7 Take Care of Frogs Don't move frogs or frog spawn from one pond to another. This can transfer disease. Always put tadpoles back in the pond they came from. Take care not to disturb the edge of the pond - it's the frog's home.
4 When you find spawn or tadpoles, fill in the frog survey card and post it to IPCC, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare or email to bogs@ipcc.ie. Remember to tell us where and when you found the different stages in the life cycle of the frog.