Toads ahoy!

After a false start a few days ago when a single female and two males appeared, last night marked the first real emergence of Common Toads (Bufo bufo), with several mating pairs in the top pond today, and some two dozen, along with a couple of Palmate Newts (Lissotriton helveticus) and three drake Mallards revealed by torchlight a few minutes ago. True to form, the spawning of toads comes six weeks after the ponds were heaving with frogs (see blog of 26 January). It seems that toads require a period of proper spring warmth to encourage them out of hibernation and I always associate the first toads with the first Peacock butterflies; a rough-and-ready reckoner that has proved accurate to within a couple of days this season. We have noticed that the toads vary considerably in colouration – from grey, through brown to markedly 'rusty' – as shown in these photos.