Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus, Canon SX50, Prince William Forest Park, toad, Triangle VA on April 11, 2019| 4 Comments »
When you truly love someone, you love them warts and all (and as the second image shows, American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus) have lots of warts). I spotted these amorous amphibians earlier this week at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Amphibians, frog, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, Canon SX50, croaking frog, frog, Prince William Forest Park, Triangle VA, vocal sac on April 9, 2019| 12 Comments »
Can you actually see a sound? Yesterday while I was exploring Prince William Forest Park, I heard a whole lot of croaking. Eventually I spotted one really loud male toad with an inflated vocal sac, which was pretty cool. What were even cooler were the concentric ripples in the water generated by the toad’s croaking.
The second image shows the toad resting in between performances, whose main purpose is to attract mates. His song did not appear to have had any immediate benefits, although I was certainly impressed.
UPDATE: I initially identified this as a frog, but fellow blogger and wildlife enthusiast Walter Sanford pointed out to me that this is probably an American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, toad on March 21, 2016| 6 Comments »
The single American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) inched closer and closer to the couple, looking like he wanted to cut in. Growing impatent, he decided that the only way to dislodge his rival was to take action. With a big splash, he jumped right onto the other male’s back.
Was the maneuver successful? Well, I think he separated the couple, but I couldn’t tell which of the males ended up with the female.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Amphibians, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus americanus, brookside gardens, Canon 50D, Eastern American Toad, Tamron 180mm macro, toad, Wheaton MD on August 17, 2013| 9 Comments »
It had been years (and maybe even decades) since I had last seen a toad and somehow I had forgotten that they have lots of warts and bumps, unlike the smooth-skinned frogs that I am used to seeing.
I encountered this brown toad, which I think is an Eastern American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus), at a garden in Maryland. According to Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, there are only two types of true toads in the state, so my changes of being correct are pretty good. The other toad is a Fowler’s Toad.
Apparently, you can distinguish between the two types by the number of warts per dark spot on their backs. Maybe you can tell them apart—I wouldn’t even know where to start counting.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
