Late Spawning Common Toads!

A lot of atypical animal behavior seems to get reported here doesn't it?

I used to hear what sounded exactly like male common toads calling on and off in the evening all through summer at a pond near where I grew up, but the shallows of the pond in question were surrounded by really deep dangerous mud so I never got to verify with a sighting.


Edited by Donny - 08 Sep 2011 at 5:56pm

Hi Rob; I once saw a pair in amplexus in Cornwall in late July, and thought it unusual enough to photograph them in front of the day's newspaper to prove the occurrence.  I wonder if the mild climate there allowed them to spawn twice in the season.  I think natterjacks can spawn more than once in a season, but this would be an adaptation to a habitat in which the first spawn could be left high and dry as the shallow slacks dry out, not something you'd have a problem with if spawning in the deeper water favoured by B Bufo, so for me your obs is a real oddity!

will wrote: Hi Rob; I once saw a pair in amplexus in Cornwall in late July, and thought it unusual enough to photograph them in front of the day's newspaper to prove the occurrence.  I wonder if the mild climate there allowed them to spawn twice in the season.  I think natterjacks can spawn more than once in a season, but this would be an adaptation to a habitat in which the first spawn could be left high and dry as the shallow slacks dry out, not something you'd have a problem with if spawning in the deeper water favoured by B Bufo, so for me your obs is a real oddity!

I just had the same thought as you Rob when reading this post that it's probably to do with the mild weather.

Could this be an example of a species adapting to our current climate? 

Could it also be possible that the toads had a poor breeding season earlier in the year, and so taking advantage of the mild weather now?

Interesting stuff....... I am in the central belt of Scotland and although we are a wee bit colder up here I wouldn't have thought it was that much of a difference. I have never seen toad spawn in July (or even June for that matter) before. Anyways, I checked on the pond before any real cold weather hit in mid November and there were a few toad tadpoles still present so it will be interesting to see if any survive the winter. The mild winter we have had will give them as good a chance as any (if indeed they can overwinter).

very interesting! natterjacks seem to be able to hold off spawning, but this could be something new for common toads.  I have noticed that newts deprived of the chance to breed due to dry ponds in March entered ponds in late April once they refilled and busily started making up for lost time, courting and egg laying.  Presumably the toad pond wasn't dry earlier in the season, given that they tend to breed in permanent waterbodies, or am I wrong?