I was interested to read Nicki Stamp’s letter (March 9, 'What are these blobs?'). It was the second such report to come to my notice within a few days, the first being from the fell between Watendlath and Thirlmere.
I am confident that a predator has killed and eaten a frog, but rejected the unpalatable jelly (some people don’t like tapioca or sago pudding!) This jelly, made of albumen, forms a very thin coating round a frog’s eggs inside the parent, but it swells up to many times its original volume when in contact with water, as in this case.
Over the years I have come across a number of similar occurrences, and sometimes the jelly contains the unlaid black eggs. The prime suspect for the murder would be a heron; I have seen them eat frogs more than once, but never a pregnant female.
While writing, I must mention that the other day a party of 12 to 15 waxwings descended on a very large Cotoneaster in our Kendal garden and completely stripped it of its heavy crop of berries.
They are delightful irregular migrants to this country from Scandinavia and this seems to be a boom year.
John Mounsey
Kendal
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