Paul Brown is correct when he writes that "This should be a bumper year for the common frog" (Specieswatch, Common frog, 24 March) because of the mild wet winter.
Unfortunately, however, in some areas the longlasting and freezing conditions of the previous winter had a disastrous effect on frog numbers. Our four garden ponds were frozen until the end of March 2013, and in April a maximum of 20 frogs gathered, with little spawn laid. In previous years, I had got used to peak numbers exceeding 100. This year, the maximum has again been a meagre 20 frogs, although with a lot of spawn, giving hope for long-term recovery.
