We've been having afternoon thunderstorms nearly every day, making the narrowmouth toads very happy. They have an interesting call -- sounds sort of like the bleating of sheep.
Eastern Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis)
Such a pretty face.
Conflict on the carport!
Two toads (Bufo sp.) facing off over a tasty Japanese beetle.
10 comments:
When my kids were a lot younger, I gathered a dozen or so toads up in a bucket (it was a rainy night in the spring) and brought them upstairs to their tub. The kids (3,5,and 7 at the time) were so excited. They still talk about the toad sleep over.
Oh my gosh--those little fatties are so cute!
FC, toads are such great little animals it's no wonder your kids were impressed.
My younger son (the one who just turned 21 - ouch) has always been tender hearted when it comes to living things. One year, when he was about four, he endeavored to save thousands of tadpoles when the puddle they lived in began to dry up. We explained to him that not all tadpoles made it into toads and that was one reason that the females laid so many eggs. He informed us that he couldn't do anything about all the rest of the tadpoles whose puddles were drying up, but he could help these particular ones. He volunteered the use of his swimming pool so we scooped up the wriggly little tadpoles and transferred them to the pool. He was diligent about getting every last one out of the puddle and he made sure their new home stayed full of dechlorinated water for the duration.
Needless to say, in a few weeks we had thousands of little toadlets all over the yard -- then our son wouldn't let us mow that section of the yard!
Great story about your kid and his toads. Are the green tree frogs still in your shed? Are they in there pretty much all the time, or just during a specific season?
They are so cool. I love their little tiny mouths.
catherine, green treefrogs are pretty much everywhere around here from late March to mid-October. Last Sunday I was walking down the roadside and within just a few minutes I had spied 5 treefrogs hanging out on stems of various plants.
Hich, narrowmouths are so ugly, they're cute!
Keep up the good work, even if you have to share with Mr. Swamp. Your site is an oasis....virtually speaking...
i'm glad i'm not the only one who finds toads ridiculously cuddly and adorable.
Hey Silver Zephyr! Welcome to the swamp. Glad to see you are out and about.
I love toads too! I used to rescue them from window wells when they would get trapped and would carry a huge bucket from door to door asking if I could look in their weels for frogs and toads so I could save them if they needed food or water!
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