FROGS are on the march, so watch your step when walking near water or you might inadvertently tread on one.

People strolling around Goldsworth Park Lake have reported frogs heading to the lake, where they will mate and lay their spawn.

Frogs spend much of the year feeding in gardens, hedgerows, grassland and woodland. They mainly eat flies, worms, slugs and snails. During the winter months they rest in the mud at the bottom of ponds, under piles of logs or in compost heaps.

When the temperature increases even slightly, we see frogs heading for shallow water at the edge of ponds and lakes, to find a mate and breed. The males fertilise frogspawn – clusters of eggs encased in a clear jelly – as it is laid by the females.

Frogspawn can appear as early as January if there is warm weather and frogs usually return to their place of birth to breed. It is believed this is because, having grown to maturity there themselves, the likelihood of their progeny surviving is higher.

Frog numbers are in decline, due especially to ponds being filled in for development. Many are killed on roads as they make their way to their breeding site.

So if you spot frogs while you’re out and about, walking or driving, please avoid harming them.