Well, it’s been a week since the “drought” broke, and the night of the first rain, it was pondemonium. Half an hour after I went to bed I had to get up again to find some earplugs!

Through the racket I thought I heard the call of a Dainty Tree Frog, but due to my precarious position hanging over the edge of the pond in the dark, with camera in one hand and torch in the other, I was only able to take a fuzzy long-distance photo, so this sighting will have to remain un-confirmed.  Not to worry though, the frog count is now up to six with two new arrivals. The Striped Marsh Frog which makes a sound a bit like a tennis ball being struck, and the Bleating Tree Frog which makes a really annoying high pitched bleating sound.

The Common Green Tree frog has attracted a mate (see un-censored photo!!) and the main pond now has a large population of tadpoles.  Although just whose tadpoles they are is anyone’s guess. The Dwarf Tree Frog population has exploded, and at night their calls can be heard coming from every direction.

As I write this, a large storm cell is passing over Bellingen. The rain gauge has just gone over the 30mm mark, the pond level has risen almost to the bottom of the grass, and the night chorus is just getting started ….
So, whose idea was it to wish for rain ???

Footnote: Around midnight the centre of the cell passed overhead, dumping a huge volume of rain in a very short time.  Even the frogs shut up for a while !!