Toad ID please.

[Suzanne B]

I found this toad up my allotment when I was moving binbags that had been filled with dirt. I quickly took some photos and then put it all back.
I'm assuming this is a common toad, but it had very reddish markings so I though I'd ask to be sure. It was quite big approximately 3 inches and very sweet.



Thanks

[basquesteve]

They look a Bronze colour here when young

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But change when they are older



Lovely creatures

[Suzanne B]

Thanks Steve.
So this one is a young one then, I'm wondering if there were any others there now. Last year we had quite a few roaming around and they were so tiny, about a cm long. I had to be careful where I walked as at one point when I was looking at ladybirds when I walked away there was one cadging a lift on my shoe! Are they solitary or do they like to stay in groups?
And you are right they really are lovely creatures.

[basquesteve]

Hi Suzanne

Your boot incident made me smile I am not sure that they are gregarious except at certain times of the year

I have a couple of underground cisterns When I pumped one out it was full of Toad Tadpoles (is that the right word?) I also leave the kitchen door open for 9 months of the year One was found on the vacuum cleaner Hoover in a separate room and a couple turned up on the door ledge The small toad is just a finger breath long I have had three dogs a Irish Wolfhound Lurcher and two Border Terriers they all ignore the Toads completly although the males occasionally cock their leg momentarily

Steve

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[Ferret]

Yes it is a Common Toad Bufo bufo, they can be a bit variable in colour, to Quote A field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe by E. N. Arnold and J. A. Burton “Colour usually dark brownish, but varying from sandy to almost brick-red, rich dark brown, greyish or occasionally olive”. The only other species native to the UK is the Natterjack Bufo calamita which is I believe found in Cumbria but is restricted to specialised habitats which are normally coastal sand dunes. They are easily told from the Common Toad by the prominent yellow stripe down the centre of the back.
There are naturalised populations of both Yellow-bellied Toad Bombina variegate and the Midwife Toad Alytes obstetricans but neither of these species have the large paratoid glands that your specimen shows.

Ferret

[chris butterworth]

Originally Posted by Suzanne B

Thanks Steve.
So this one is a young one then, I'm wondering if there were any others there now. Last year we had quite a few roaming around and they were so tiny, about a cm long.

Small Toadlets, at least until they are over an inch long, do tend to be gregarious and during hot weather you can sometimes find a large ( ish ) 'ball' of them basking in the sun with the outside animals burrowing into the middle to keep moist. I've only noted this a couple of times with Common Toad but it is a regular occurance with Natterjacks. BTW Natterjacks are something of a speciality of Cumbria. Not only do you get them in 'the usual' places - i.e. dune slacks - but they are also found in surprisingly deep pools ( along with a good selection of other amphibians ) up on the fells.

Chris

[Suzanne B]

Originally Posted by basquesteve

Hi Suzanne

Your boot incident made me smile I am not sure that they are gregarious except at certain times of the year

I have a couple of underground cisterns When I pumped one out it was full of Toad Tadpoles (is that the right word?) I also leave the kitchen door open for 9 months of the year One was found on the vacuum cleaner Hoover in a separate room and a couple turned up on the door ledge The small toad is just a finger breath long I have had three dogs a Irish Wolfhound Lurcher and two Border Terriers they all ignore the Toads completly although the males occasionally cock their leg momentarily

Steve

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Thanks Steve

What lovely photos you have of them , and how nice to have an open house and be able to see them inside too. Do they bother when you come near or are they quite tame?

[Suzanne B]

Originally Posted by Ferret

Yes it is a Common Toad Bufo bufo, they can be a bit variable in colour, to Quote A field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe by E. N. Arnold and J. A. Burton “Colour usually dark brownish, but varying from sandy to almost brick-red, rich dark brown, greyish or occasionally olive”. The only other species native to the UK is the Natterjack Bufo calamita which is I believe found in Cumbria but is restricted to specialised habitats which are normally coastal sand dunes. They are easily told from the Common Toad by the prominent yellow stripe down the centre of the back.
There are naturalised populations of both Yellow-bellied Toad Bombina variegate and the Midwife Toad Alytes obstetricans but neither of these species have the large paratoid glands that your specimen shows.

Ferret

Originally Posted by chris butterworth

Small Toadlets, at least until they are over an inch long, do tend to be gregarious and during hot weather you can sometimes find a large ( ish ) 'ball' of them basking in the sun with the outside animals burrowing into the middle to keep moist. I've only noted this a couple of times with Common Toad but it is a regular occurance with Natterjacks. BTW Natterjacks are something of a speciality of Cumbria. Not only do you get them in 'the usual' places - i.e. dune slacks - but they are also found in surprisingly deep pools ( along with a good selection of other amphibians ) up on the fells.

Chris

Thanks for the info Ferret and Chris

This one was quite a definate reddy colour which you can't quite see in the photo, we though it was an escapee from somewhere and might have been dangerous!

Last year I saw about 5 toadlets separately in different places in the allotment although not too far away from each other. It surprised me to have them as there isn't a pond near me and we are one of the allotments on top of a hill. Do they need a watery habitat?
It's nice to know that at least one has stayed around I just hope I never scared it off now.

Although Natterjacks are found in the county I have never come across them myself. I vaguely remember that every year a group of volunteers come together and see them safely across roads at a certain time of the year, or am I making that up? Shall have to have a look.