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Tag Archives: toad

A gruesome sight

27 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by sconzani in amphibian

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British amphibians, Bufo bufo, frozen toad, toad

Today’s post is a bit gruesome but, I think, interesting enough to share. This was the sight that greeted me when I stepped out of my front gate Monday morning – a frozen Toad. Not only was the creature itself frozen stiff but, when I tried to move it, I found the Toad was also frozen to the pavement. After Sunday’s dusting of snow and the continuing chilly temperatures, the freezing wasn’t so much of a surprise as seeing the Toad itself. I presume it must have been living somewhere under the flagstones and gravel of my front yard. Such a shame to see it dead rather than alive.

210127 toad

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215/366 Mr Warty

02 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by sconzani in amphibian, nature

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Tags

British amphibians, Bufo bufo, Common toad, toad, warty skin

Or it might be Mrs Warty – I’m not sure how you tell the gender of a Common toad, and this one wasn’t hanging around to let me have a second look anyway. Those warts aren’t really warts, of course – they’re swellings above glands in the skin that can secrete a poisonous substance that acts as a defence mechanism.

200802 toad (1)

Though they’re not the most attractive of creatures, toads are, according to my Fauna Britannica, ‘highly intelligent, learn quickly and can be tamed, and they are extremely long-lived (40 years at least)’. Apparently, they also have ‘a marked homing instinct and will return to the same resting spot in some damp corner time after time’, so perhaps I need to go back for another look at this one.

200802 toad (2)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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