Bloody Taxonomists!

I was reminded earlier today that it was twenty-five years ago that I started my university degree; a whole quarter of a century ago! Back then, the science of taxonomy was pretty well established and one got the impression that the times of great swathes of change were largely over; needless to say, this impression turned out to be spectacularly wrong! Around the time…

American Toad, Toadlet, Toad, Young

Toadlet

In the middle of summer, the Spring’s generation of baby toads start getting adventurous and venture forth from the ponds in which they were spawned. One has to be careful where one puts one’s feet whilst out walking, as the paths are often crawling (hopping?) with loads of these little chaps. This makes me happy: in the UK, toads are struggling (the usual human…

American Toad, Bufo americanus

Hello, lady toads…

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single toad in possession of a good pond, must be in want of a wife. Despite having been interested in, and looking out for, frogs and toads since a young age, I’d never actually seen a male Anuran calling; whilst walking in a park in Oakville, I found this enthusiastic chap parked on the edge of…