Save my frogs!

[Greaterwaterparsnip]

So we emptied our leaky pond two weeks ago and popped as many frogs and toads as we could catch into one of those big garden buckets. There were a lot. There is plenty of the silt from the bottom of the pond and a lot of weed. They can climb out if they want to. We have surrounded it with pots and covered it loosely to try and protect it from the frost but I am having to break the ice each day.
DH thinks we should put them back in the pond. It's quite deep - at least a metre - as it will be warmer at the bottom than in the bucket but there isn't any silt now, the weed isn't as thick so they would be exposed. Also we had to use tap water. The chlorine should be gone but it will be a while before it is suitable for wildlife I would think.
We could put them back but if they didn't like it and left the pond I'm worried they wouldn't find a frost free place in time.
Who is right?

I wouldn't put them back in the pond, but I'd also not worry about them going in if they wish.

Frogs actually don't spend all their time in ponds - toads (and newts) even less so. They tend to use ponds for mating, and then sometimes when it's cold. Btu they don't NEED them in the winter necessarily.

But they do need damp places. Do you have old logs or bits of wood that you could pile leaves on? Or just 'messy' areas in the garden?

There were an awful lot of them choosing to stay there last week! More than a hundred. But yes the newts were elsewhere.

Very messy areas within 5m if they can find them before their little toes freeze. Perhaps I'm worrying too much!

They can mate from January so were possibly gathering for that!
Until just now it has been quite mild.

Edit: if more then a hundred, then they are definitely expecting a shagfest. Lucky you!

They probably love your garden as you have a pond and your messy wildlife-friendly areas. They'll be fine, I wouldn't worry. They'll know if the pond is OK for them to go in, and i think the chlorine clears quickly.

Nb newts and frogs often don't coexist at spawning time. Well, not for long, as newts eat frogspawn.

Thanks
Love my pond.
Love the upcoming frog chorus!

Can we see some photos of your pond @Greaterwaterparsnip ?
We put in a pond last year and would love to get frogs, no sign yet sadly!

Oh no - what a shame!
We put it in first a year before COVID. The wildlife came straight away. Sadly, we used a cheap liner and the larvae in the pond made hundreds of tiny woodworm like holes and it's been half empty for a couple of years.
We've invested in a posh liner now so fingers crossed.

I will try pictures...

Hope you see some action this spring.

Oh...didn't work

Hope so. We get birds drinking from it and bathing in it. We've also had visits from a hedgehog so hopefully it's just a matter of time now for some frogs.

I’m not sure about this but I would be inclined to empty the bucket if the ice is likely to get too thick. Once ice has formed, they can’t get out, and if the whole bucket freezes solid they will die. The pond is less likely to freeze solid because a) it is deeper and b) it is insulated by the ground.

There’s two strategies if you are a male toad a) overwinter in the pond and get first dibs on the females, but at the risk of being killed if the pond freezes b) overwinter in a nice warm pile of logs and leaves, the safer option, but you’re late to the action.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I am breaking the ice through the day. It has been 2cm thick at most.
I just don't think they will stay in the new pond because of the lack of shelter and it still being tapwatery which means they must take their chances finding adequate cover.

Perhaps I should locate a good area and tip them out there. There are some rotting logs at the top of the garden against the garage which would be sheltered. I could perhaps throw some old carpet over the pile too.

Begins to plan amphibian winter hotel...

I'm no expert on amphibians, but don't frogs & toads usually hibernate above water in the winter? We have a couple of toads in our garden (and no pond to speak of) and they must hide away and hibernate in sheltered corners under a pile of leaves or something.

In the summer my garden is full of frogs but l never see them this time of year. I don't have a pond but some of the surrounding neighbours do. I leave old flower pots dotted around on their side with straw in, and l have lots of piles of old wood lying around.

I don't think they'll be bothered by the tap water, when we dug our pond we got our first frog as we were filling the pond up with the tap, there wasn't even any plants in to yet.

I leave the bottom of my compost bin open which they can get into in the winter if they need to, obviously you risk them not being the only critters in there.

See my post above about male frog winter strategies

I believe they can hibernate by snuggling into the silt at the bottom of the pond as well as finding a warm place on land.

We had to remove a different pond one winter for an extension and again there were 50 frogs/toads at the bottom ( I counted that time.) I put them in a washing up bowl and not surprisingly they didn't think much of that and disappeared fairly quickly.

They often hibernate in ponds, so I would be worried that you have disturbed their hibernation, mid Winter is not a good time to re-do ponds for this reason, as you can end up killing them.
I would leave them where they are now, but try and protect them from predators, they could get eaten by rats or foxes if they are at all exposed. They might also get too cold now. How can they get out of a bucket ? Eg have you put ramps or stones in ?