Anyone missing toads this year?

[CathyA]

This is the first year in a long time that we haven't had any toads mating in our small water garden. Anyone else noticing a decrease in toads in their area?
I do have a few tree frogs, but not as many as usual. Maybe the drought we had recently wiped alot of them out.

[razz]

We have a good supply of toads, especially young ones which is great. The bird numbers have been amazing as well so I don't what the difference might be.

[Float On]

We have a new to us type of frog or toad in our little garden pond this year.....and I don't like them. Eastern Narrow-Mouthed something or other. They sound like very loud sheep. I miss last year where I even had a bull-frog among the other frogs in the pond.

[pinkytoe]

We have some sort of little toad that makes a chirping noise all night long that is new to us. We used to have a lot of frogs. When it rained, they would be hopping all over the place. They are long gone. I have not used any pesticides or toxins in our yard since we moved in (15 years ago). My suspicions are that those things diminish amphibians.

[Alan]

We've never had many toads on our property, but tree frogs, that's another story. They congregate in and around our pool every spring and those horny little bastards serenade each other all night long. I wish they had volume controls because when the cacophony begins, nobody sleeps.

[CathyA]

LOL Alan..........they can certainly be loud. As much as I LOVE going to sleep with their symphony, there have been a couple nights when I just had to close the windows. It's amazing how loud those little guys can be.
Still........I prefer them always to human sounds!

[rosarugosa]

I seldom see toads, but I saw a great big one in the woods last weekend. Cute :)

[peggy]

Actually I was remarking to dh last week that I've never seen so many toads. Now frogs, we got them by the zillions! And more this year than before. Hal the Heron is quite happy. ;)
We have tons of Northern cricket frogs who make a clicking sound. And several deep throated bullfrogs.

[CathyA]

I finally have a green frog, but it probably won't be long before the northern snake finds him (or her).

I thought maybe I had cricket frogs a couple years ago, but discovered they were angular-winged katydids.

I would LOVE to have bullfrogs in the creek......but not my little pond.

I love the night sounds in August. If I were a music composer, I always thought I would love to write an instrumental piece for orchestra that was "music of the night"........but it would imitate frogs, crickets, katydids, owls, etc.
But alas, I'm not that talented.

[Alan]

If I were a music composer, I always thought I would love to write an instrumental piece for orchestra that was "music of the night"........but it would imitate frogs, crickets, katydids, owls, etc.


Would it sound like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KKHJVW7Y5I

[CeciliaW]

I wonder, Alan, if she played that at dusk, if it would attract others of the same kind in the area?

[Alan]

I wonder, Alan, if she played that at dusk, if it would attract others of the same kind in the area?

I would think so. It's just one long continuous mating call.

[CathyA]

That's great Alan! My son recorded the tree frogs out my window one night. It's just amazing. They start squealing like little puppies when they get going.
I would love to be in a hammock with a mosquito net in the middle of the forest and listen to that all night!

[CathyA]

I can get my tree frogs going by making the sound myself. What's interesting, is sometimes when I go out to water the plants in the back yard, they start up. I don't know if they hear the water or just smell it.
Water (rain) puts thoughts of "romance" in their little brains....haha
Even with my small water gardens, so many of the tree frogs show up.
I'll have to post a couple pics I took of them later.