Toads

This week, more than 40 common toads were spawning in the Dragonfly Pond.

Toads are active at night, when they hunt for a variety of invertebrates including slugs, spiders, worms, aphids and ants. They sneak up on prey and use their sticky tongues to catch it. Some larger toads may eat harvest mice, slow worms, small grass snakes and even younger toads.

During the breeding season in early spring, toads migrate to the pond in which they were spawned, to find a mate and reproduce. Male toads arrive first and wait for females at these ponds, although some choose to ambush the females on the way, jumping on their backs mid-journey.

When spawning, the female releases double strings of fertilised eggs among waterweeds. One female will
produce around 1,500 eggs. After 10 days, the tadpoles emerge.

Tadpoles mature in around 16 weeks, gradually losing their tails and growing legs as they develop into toadlets. They usually leave their spawning pond in May. Toads overwinter in the meadows, only returning to the pond to spawn.

Take a look for them on your next visit.