All day we had been hearing the calls of the normally nocturnal American Toad and as we turned around to head back into the main body of the lake we realized we were surrounded by American Toads calling for and trying to attract their mates.

Now this brown, to black to grayish toad of 3 to 4 inches is usually nocturnal but in late spring and early summer the males gather in suitable places to establish their breeding territories and call for a mate. Suitable places include permanent pools and ponds and streams with submerged vegetation. They live in both suburban and agricultural areas and their range of habitat covers much of North America from James Bay in Canada all the way to Chihuahua Mexico. They are generally not found in in our most southern states. These toads have a great ability to adapt to their surroundings as long as there is a source of semi-permanent (vernal) water for them to bred in.

The toads were everywhere in the shallows to the side of the narrow cove. Their little eyes were poking up out of the grassy debris and many were out of the water on logs and branches.

The larger toads seemed to be quiet. I guess they were comfortable with their status so they just were sitting there looking all proud.

Meanwhile the smaller toads were busy calling their little hearts out and puffing themselves up trying to look big and tough. Occasionally two toads would jump at each other and wrestle for superiority.

If toads have dense vegetation for cover and plenty of insects to eat they will live almost anywhere from backyards to forests. They are considered common and during daylight hours they usually hide out under porches, flat rocks, wood piles or other cover. When it gets colder in the fall these tough little toads dig themselves backwards into the ground or find other suitable underground hibernation places.

Toad skin changes color depending on temperature, humidity and stress. They have four toes on each front leg and 5 toes on their hind legs. The females are larger than the males, and have white throats and are lighter overall.

When a female selects a male she moves in close and the male jumps on her back. Male toads get horny pads on their first and second toes of their forelegs. These little horny pads help them grab the female and hold on tight. Once on her back the female moves to a suitable place to lay eggs. When she releases her eggs, the male releases sperm to fertilize the eggs (like most frogs and toads egg fertilization is external).

The eggs of American Toads are are black on top and white on the bottom and in long strings of sticky clear gel. The tadpoles that hatch out are dark (almost black) with tails and smooth bodies. As they grow they develop legs and the tails get shorter and shorter. In 40 to 40 days they leave the water as small toads and begin their life on land, only returning to the water to breed. Toads don't drink water they absorb it through the skin!

Toads shed their skin about 4 times a year and many don't make it past the tadpole stage. The toad collects the skin when it sheds under its chin and then eats it. One toad lived in captivity for over 30 years although most living in the the wild only live a few years.

Toads are solitary and only congregate in groups during breeding. I have never seen so many toads together before and it was really interesting and fun to see them gathered together making such a noisy commotion.

Toads can shoot out their sticky tongues to catch food. The warts on their back secrete a poisonous substance that helps protect them. Some animals are immune to the poison like hog nosed snakes and garter snakes (snakes are their main predators). Sometime they urinate on themselves to make themselves even less tasty and if you have ever picked one up you have probably seen and felt this happen. They are even known to blow themselves up with air to make themselves harder to swallow. Contrary to folk-belief, you will not get warts if you touch a toad. However, the defensive chemicals in toad skin are toxic to humans, so its important to wash one's hands carefully after handling one.

Toads are very important to us economically since they eat about 1,000 insects a day! Keep your ears and eyes open for this common creature. You might just spot one, or two, or twenty!

Can you spot the toads in this picture? (click to enlarge)

All Toad Photography © Crede Calhoun