A cloud of rare tadpoles has descended on a south Norfolk pond from a top secret location.
Blacksmiths Cottage Nursery, near Diss has become the temporary home for pool frog tadpoles as part of a reintroduction programme.
The protected amphibian, which was presumed extinct in the wild by 1995, was reintroduced to the UK in 2005 from Sweden and conservationists have been working to establish the frog in west Norfolk ever since. The spawn has been moved to this managed environment in a bid to boost the Norfolk population.
Zoologists at Shorelands Wildlife Gardens, which neighbours the nursery, are caring for the precious tadpoles in special pools located within polytunnels.
Ben Potterton, from Shorelands, said: 'All the staff at both Shorelands and Blacksmiths Cottage Nursery are delighted to be able to volunteer time and resources to this worthwhile project.
'Our aim is to support native species projects across the region and our staff are actively involved in a number of initiatives supporting plants, amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds and mammals, at the same time improving the biodiversity of our site.'
Staff wear protective gloves and overalls when near the tadpoles to ensure the frogs remain isolated from disease and existing amphibians. The tadpoles are fed boiled spinach to replicate their natural diet of algae and have been thriving in the variable weather conditions.
In April, Shorelands took delivery of 22 injured white storks from a rehabilitation centre in Warsaw, Poland with a view to breeding the birds and reintroducing them to the Waveney Valley.
Blacksmiths Cottage Nursery will be holding a Small Holders Festival tomorrow.
There will be plant, craft and local food stalls and talks and demonstrations about chicken and alpaca keeping, vegetable growing, bee keeping and the pool frog project.
Entry is free. For more information visit the nursery's Facebook page – Blacksmiths Cottage Nursery.
Do you have a wildlife story? Email kate.royall@archant.co.uk
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