The first frogs have made their way to my pond ...

Around 14 days earlier than last year, the first frogs came to spawn in the spawning pond

The small pond has existed on my meadow orchard for three and a half years and is more important than ever. In recent decades, many natural small bodies of water, waterlogged meadow hollows, wet meadows etc. have been destroyed.

Small bodies of water have quietly disappeared from the landscape
Our cultural landscape as well as villages and towns are becoming depleted of small structures that are essential for the biodiversity of flora and fauna in order for species to survive.

Amphibians such as frogs, newts and toads need spawning waters such as pools, puddles, ruts with shallow water and larger ponds with shallow water zones for reproduction and sometimes as a habitat.
Only in standing water can their spawn be hatched and the offspring grow. At the same time, bodies of water are also important biotopes for many other animal species.

Why are these valuable habitats being deliberately filled in or drained?

To gain a few more square meters of agricultural land or to make waterlogged areas usable earlier in the year.
There used to be ponds in many villages, some of which served as fire-fighting ponds. At some point they became superfluous, maintenance was too expensive or the land could be used as a building site or cheap landfill for building rubble.

Even puddles on agricultural roads are filled with building rubble or similar. They