Tadpoles begin to Disperse in Office Pond

Those tadpoles that hatched successfully have now begun to disperse across the office pond.  The heads of these little creatures, are now clearly discernable but no eyes or mouth can be distinguished as yet, in animals little more than one centimetre long.  The broad tails are permitting these tiny creatures to make short journeys as they spread out from the mass of spawn to take up residence in the rest of the pond.  We have observed a number of indviduals have made it to the far side of the pond and they are hanging onto large stones and debris in the shallows.  The majority of the tadpoles are to be found within the remains of the spawn, but we suspect that once they have exhausted their yolk sacs they will seek food and refuge elsewhere.  There is a lack of cover for the tadpoles (we cleaned the pond out in the autumn).  Hopefully, there will still be enough cover for the tadpoles to hide in although we accept that nearly all of them will perish over the next few weeks.  Most will fall prey to the other animals that inhabit the pond with them, the dragon and damsel fly nymphs are particularly voracious, but even blackbirds and robins can pose a threat to the tadpoles.