Frog spawn sighting in Cornwall is the first for national survey
11th December 2025
A sighting of frog spawn in puddles in west Cornwall on 2nd December 2025 is the first record to be added to an annual national survey led by Freshwater Habitats Trust.
The PondNet Spawn Survey maps sightings of Common Frog and Common Toad spawn across the country to monitor how amphibians use different types of waterbodies to breed. The records are inputted to a national database, which is made available for research and conservation purposes. The survey is also a way for adults and children to get outdoors and connect with nature.
This record was added three weeks earlier than last year’s first entry, when frog spawn was recorded in a garden pond on the Isles of Scilly on 21st December 2024.
Iain Garside, who submitted this year’s first frog spawn record from a location near Predannack Airfield on the Lizard Peninsula said: “I was out walking with my wife, and we saw around 10 puddles containing spawn on a waterlogged path. We weren’t specifically looking for it but on dull scenic stretches my attention is usually on the ground looking for interesting things to photograph!
“I took part in the Spawn Survey because a friend of mine who is a keen naturalist thought the find was noteworthy and should be reported. Most people I know were very surprised that we had spotted it this early.”
- One of the clumps of spawn spotted by Iain Garside. (c) Iain Garside
Freshwater Habitats Trust Technical Director Dr Naomi Ewald said: “We’re grateful to Iain for adding the first record to the 2026 PondNet Spawn Survey. We know that increasingly mild wet winters are pushing the breeding season of amphibians earlier and earlier, and we always see the season start in the South West before spreading up the country.
“Amphibians use a diverse network of healthy freshwater habitats, including small pools, large ponds and ditches to breed and we know that frogs are very opportunistic and often spawn in winter wet hollows.
“Small habitats like these make up around 80% of the freshwater environment and act as strongholds for populations of rare and threatened species. This is why focusing on small habitats is an integral part of our vision to build the Freshwater Network, a national network of wilder, wetter, cleaner, connected freshwaters.”
The PondNet Spawn Survey will run until 31st May 2026. Anyone in the UK can add their sighting to the form on our website.