This is the fourth spring for Toad Pool 1. Vegetation was quick to fill in here, but
amphibians were slow to arrive.
This is the second spring that water has been present in
Toad Pool 2. Last year the pool was
still under construction and only had a depth of a few inches. This year’s pool has a center portion with a
depth of about one foot, and the soil was compacted during construction to
minimize leakage.
The pools were constructed with the primary goal of creating
Toad breeding habitat. This is the first
year that toads have actually visited the pools. During warmer nights, males move into the
pools to call for mates. I counted nine
males ringing the shoreline of Toad Pool 2 on March 25.
It took a few nights before a female made it to the pool. This couple, with female in front, is ready
to begin the process of depositing and fertilizing eggs.
On the morning of March 29, I finally found strings of toad
eggs in the pool. The depressions in the
bottom of the pool were made by deer hooves.
Whitetail Deer treat these pools as their private playgrounds. I’m hoping that doesn’t cause a problem for
developing tadpoles.
Eggs began to hatch on April 2. By the next day, hatching was proceeding at a
rapid pace.
This collection of egg strands is in deeper water and wasn’t
noticeable until hatching began.
Everything seems to be going well.
Hopefully, the end result will be a mass of small toads leaving the
pool.
There was one thing different about the toad pools this
spring that may have contributed to the toad visitations. Both pools were surrounded by a mass of
Spring Peepers creating a loud chorus. I’m
wondering if the Peeper song alerted the toads to the fact that a suitable
breeding pool was available. The newly
hatched Peeper tadpoles shown above are just two of dozens hanging in the algae
around the edge of the pools. This toad
pool venture may just turn out to be a success.
Fascinating details that I've never seen.
ReplyDeleteHi, Stew. I'm always glad to show someone something new.
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