The wetlands are alive, with the sound of trilling! Yep, either I’m channeling Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music or it’s mating season for toads in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States of America.
The mating process begins when male toads, such as the following Eastern American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus), go to a body of water and begin calling females. This individual was spotted on 12 April 2014 in a large vernal pool located near the terminus of the Hike-Bike Trail at Huntley Meadows Park.
The following movie shows a male toad calling several times. The mating calls of other male toads can be heard in the background, as well as wind noise (the video clip was recorded on a windy day).
Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 in a five-part series of posts featuring two types of toads commonly seen at Huntley Meadows Park: Eastern American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus); and Fowler’s Toads (Anaxyrus fowleri).
Related Resources:
- Toad-ally in love! (Part 2)
- Toad-ally in love! (Part 3)
- Toad-ally in love! (Part 4)
- Toad-ally in love! (Part 5)
Copyright © 2014 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Anaxyrus americanus, Eastern American Toad, Hike-Bike Trail, Huntley Meadows Park, male, mating call, vernal pool, wetlands, wildlife photography, wildlife videography
walter sanford's photoblog 
April 21, 2014 at 6:44 am |
Great video. It’s really cool to see (and hear) a toad calling from such close range–I hear frogs all of the time in the marsh, but rarely see them.
February 1, 2015 at 12:14 am |
[…] 12 APR 2014 | HMP | Eastern American Toad (male) […]
March 10, 2015 at 5:03 am |
[…] 18 April 2014 at two vernal pools near the Hike-Bike Trail at Huntley Meadows Park. [See “Toad-ally in Love! (Part 1-5).”] Part 5 shows thousands of “toadpoles” swimming in the larger […]
March 18, 2016 at 4:01 am |
[…] Resources: “Toad-ally in love!” — a five-part series of posts featuring two types of toads commonly seen at Huntley […]
March 20, 2016 at 4:01 am |
[…] Resources: “Toad-ally in love!” — a five-part series of posts featuring two types of toads commonly seen at Huntley […]
March 22, 2016 at 4:02 am |
[…] Resources: “Toad-ally in love!” — a five-part series of posts featuring two types of toads commonly seen at Huntley Meadows […]
March 24, 2016 at 10:27 am |
[…] “Toad-ally in love!” — a five-part series of posts featuring two types of toads commonly seen at Huntley Meadows Park: Eastern American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus); and Fowler’s Toads (Anaxyrus fowleri). […]