Tales from the Gualala toad

Last night I mentioned we went up to the Gualala River to look for toads.  Eric grew up with toads in his backyard and I used to interact with toads on Cape Cod.  We don't see toads on Bodega Head, so every now and then we both miss finding and watching toads.

We hadn't looked for them along the Gualala River before, but I had heard that young toads have been reported emerging from the river in the fall.  So with yesterday's rain showers, we figured it was worth a shot and it would be new territory for us.

It took some patience and persistence, but eventually we found two toads.  The first was a small individual (~3 cm long) hiding under a rock.  Here's the view I showed last night and two others.  Note the variety of colors, including orange under the feet:

 

 

 

 

It sounds like I should be calling these California Toads (Anaxyrus borealis halophilus) now, a subspecies of Western Toad. But it can be hard to track the taxonomy, so let me know if you have different information.

 

Later, Eric encountered a larger toad partially buried in the rocks near the river.  It was hard to spot, but luckily it moved slightly, revealing itself as amphibian rather than rock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a few other fun observations from our time in northern Sonoma County yesterday, so stay tuned!

P.S.  Sounds like Gualala was one of the wettest places in the county yesterday with ~1.5" of rain.