Rewilding My Lot

Lately, for a couple of hours after it gets dark, there have been loud sounds in the back garden.

At first, I thought it might be the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) that was recently introduced here. However, it was not the low bellow that I understand the call of a male bullfrog to be. Here’s a video that captures an example of the sound that I hear here.

These sound more like toads to me, and when I stop and listen more closely, they seem to come from different locations and to be calling to each other.

So for a couple of nights I did some investigation. Wearing a headlamp I could sometimes reveal what was making the sounds and snag photos. When I could get close enough for an ID, the consensus seemed to be Gulf Coast Toad (Incilius valliceps), which I have seen here before (example 1, example 2). Here are some photos (the best I could do in the poor light).

The difference between those earlier toad findings and now is that there is a pond in the garden, and certainly I watched some of the toads jump into the water when they had had enough of being watched.

My conclusion is that there are a number of toads (perhaps only two) using the pond here at least sometimes. The most common scenario I have found is two toads shouting at each other across the pond! I don’t know if they are all living in the garden or just visiting. Nor do I have confirmation that the bullfrog is still here.

Here’s another video that shows one particular toad making sounds — you can see the throat moving.