At this time of the year it is not uncommon to find lumps of white jelly on the ground, often near ponds. This jelly sometimes called ‘cosmic snot’ is most likely unfertilised frog spawn from the oviduct of a frog that has been predated by a fox, heron or, in our case, I think a buzzard. The spawn is designed to swell on contact with water, which gives the familiar mass of jelly. The photographs were taken by the pond at Andrews Corner garden on the northern edge of Dartmoor with the buzzard sitting watching.
