Jellylike substance in fields

Pompey Magnus

Could someone enlighten me as to what causes a kind of blob of jelly-like substance that I occasionally notice when walking through fields?

I checked google and there were plenty of theories (some pretty mad) but I didn't find any definite answer. I found this article from the BBC which seems a bit similar to what I have been seeing but it doesn't give any definitive explanation even though they did ask some experts.





These were 2 that I found yesterday in Offaly a few metres apart. The polite comparison I can make is that they are like a mix between jellyfish and frogspawn . More like jellyfish though as it doesn't have the lumpy consistency of frogspawn.

dodderangler

Land jellyfish
Their back we're all doomed
Seen it before out hunting never took any noticed but only ever seen it when it's cold out

Pie Man

Were there cattle in the field they could have runny noses.

Pompey Magnus

Pie Man wrote: »

Were there cattle in the field they could have runny noses.

Nope, no livestock on the land.

Half-cocked

Ectoplasm? Is the area known for ghosts?;)

Mothman

From the link in OP

It backs the theory that birds of some species are eating frogs or toads and regurgitating the ovaries, perhaps due to toxins.

I see them at fence posts or even on top of fence posts where the birds perch.
Buzzards are quite fond of frogs, and there's plenty of both here

Kess73

The frog theory is an interesting one.


Have come across white and yellowish versions that would be similar to the pics in the OP, but I always put them down as being the result of rabbits with some form of mucoid enteritis ( or similar) that I was not familiar with.


Interestingly enough the area in which I have mostly seen that jelly stuff has a decent frog population as well as the rabbits I was blaming for the jelly. I also see a bit of it from time to time near the lakeshore when out fishing. That area also has rabbits and frogs with the latter often being taken by the resident herons. If the frog theory is valid then it would make sense that any bid taking a frog would cough up that stuff and maybe even some mammals also if they took a frog.


Mothman's comments about seeing it on posts does seem to rule out my mucoid enteritis thoughts, and we all know how well buzzards and posts go together.

bernard0368

I have seen this in an area around a fox den and always thought it was some bile regurgitated by the fox.
For the buzzard idea I have never seen buzzards around this area.

dodderangler

I really don't think it has anything to do with buzzards to be honest
They may eat frogs but their diet does not consist of mainly frogs and
I dunno if it sounds silly but to me it looks like flem coughed up from a cow

Mothman

I didn't mean to imply it was solely Buzzards. Just giving an example at how it ends on top of fence posts. What I've seen are too big to be phlegm, snot etc. These sems to be several predators involved.

While I always thought it to be from frogs, I never considered that some or all of what I see are regurgitated. I just thought it was never eaten in the first place.
Also I always took the little black dots that can be seen in pic in OP to be the eggs.

Pompey Magnus

Mothman wrote: »

I didn't mean to imply it was solely Buzzards. Just giving an example at how it ends on top of fence posts. What I've seen are too big to be phlegm, snot etc. These sems to be several predators involved

While I always thought it to be from frogs, I never considered that some or all of what I see are regurgitated. I just thought it was never eaten in the first place.
Also I always took the little black dots that can be seen in pic in OP to be the eggs.

The black dots are dirt as I was poking it with a stick before I took the pic, it originally had been smooth and definitely no dots before I began my unscientific testing of it :P.

V_Moth

To me this looks like it might be star jelly, produced by cyano bacteria or slime moulds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_jelly

dodderangler

Was readin yesterday on this and a fella said that it had something to do with cattle havin miscarriages

Birdnuts

It looks like the stuff produced by slime moulds - it thrives in damp/cool conditions so likely to be alot about this year.

swifts need our help!

Slime mould or an alga of some sort

Mark

Birdnuts

dodderangler wrote: »

Was readin yesterday on this and a fella said that it had something to do with cattle havin miscarriages

Sounds like he he was talking about a cattle disease called BVD - which is spread by bovine(cattle) bodily fluids including nasal discharges, saliva, urine etc.

I suppose the pic does look a bit like cow snot

IrishHomer

I always see it on virgin bogs where farm animals do not go. I was told a long time ago by a wildlife expert it was discarded parts of frogs mainly from Kestrels.

It's very common on bogs and Kestrels do constantly hunt bogs for frogs.

Shrubz

possibly Blue Ice , toilet discharge from aircraft.

kylith

My money is on slime mold.

AnneMullen

Just thought I'd add this

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/1126/1224308136784.html

fleabag

I've just seen 5 lumps of a whitish jelly in the fields at the back of me. Looked like melted snow, sort of grey-white opaque with a slight hint of yellow on a couple of the lumps. No camera alas.

There have been no cows in the fields for weeks, never see any frogs there although there are herons around. Definitely no buzzards and never seen a fox or rabbits. After reading this thread, I'm convinced it's from meteorites - I want to believe