Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

toads

  • Bufo bufo

    The Common Toad of Europe, I think. Vanlig padda in Sweden, where we found these two on a path near lake Krankesjön. Sweden has 13 species of amphibians (including two vattensalamander) and six species of reptiles.Being in the land o’ Linnaeus, we kept coming across the doubled binomial: Porzana porzana, Buteo buteo, Anser anser, Ciconia…

    mthew

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  • Toad O’clock

    American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) spotted by an eagle-eyed five-year-old on her family’s Westchester Co. property. This was just after we had all run into two other amphibians by the side of the house:Look how this one blends in.A Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). Less than a foot away from the even smaller but more colorful:Itty-bitty Northern…

    mthew

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  • Tadpoles

    One of the unexpected sights during our walk along the Northumberland Coast Path was this (tidal?) pool full of what we thought were Common Toad (Bufo bufo) tadpoles. Surprising because this was brackish water at best, if not fully the brine of the nearby North Sea. It seems, though, that they can tolerate a certain…

    mthew

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  • Kerjillions

    The tadpoles of a toad, I assume American Toad (Bufo americanus) rather than Fowler’s (Bufo fowleri), about a centimeter long. In the shallows of Doodletown’s Reservoir. The adult toads live inland but come to fresh water to reproduce.There were innumerable numbers of them. They follow the human sperm plan; produce a lot, a few will…

    mthew

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