Freaking Toads Everywhere

[woodjin]

Yesterday morning I went for a motorcycle ride before work. I rode out to greenwood WMA where there is an old abandoned bog as the headwaters to Webbs Mill. Anyway, I was walking down to the water via a deer path when I noticed what seemed to be large house flies all over the ground. On closer inspection I saw that they were newly born Fowlers toads (they were definitley toads, I assume Fowlers). They were each about a 1/4" long. I had to walk on my tipy toes so as not to crush them. At first I figured there were maybe a couple hundred of them, but as I stopped walking and was quiet, I could hear many more in the woods around me. I took a rough inventory and estimated there to be in the area of maybe a thousand of them. No kidding. It was like a toad invasion! They were so small and just kept hopping away from me as I approached. I've seen small toads before but the number of them was overwhelming. I don't think I've ever seen them quite that small either.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

I"ve never seen that spectacle of nature Jeff.

Is that the long narrow pond that ends at the ryefield road? Do you really think that is an old cranberry bog? That never occurred to me, seems to small. I really love that area, very neat out there; clean, raw wilderness. If you ever want to ride out there some summer evening let me know, I'll meet you on my bike.

 

[NJSnakeMan]

There was a trail i use to go on. Fowler's Toads were everywhere, every step you took there was a toad jumping. But not as extreme as your story. That's amazing! =)

 

[woodjin]

Yes it really was something to see. I suspect that this kind of thing happens frequently, but due to the the fact that they are so vulnerable to predators at this stage, their numbers could be reduced very quickly. In a matter of hours. That might account for the rariety of the sighting. I bet Bobbleton would know. Anyway, I just looked at my ruler and I think my 1/4" size estimate was a little conservative, they were probably closer to a 1/3" , maybe a 1/2" but that is still very small.

Bob, you are correct. You know exactly where I was. I can't say for certain that it was a man made bog at one time. Some of the really old bogs loose the hard edges over the decades and look more like ponds. On the other hand, this area I was could have been dammed up by the transcontential cable road there, the area east of that, maybe 539 or beaver activity. I did notice that there was no visable irrigation cut around the perimeter so chances are it was not a bog.

We should take a ride there. My clutch needs to be fixed (darn it) but then I'm good to go.

Jeff

 

[woodjin]

Bob,
I meant to say water flow cut or ditch, not irrigation cut. The area I was at would have been the reservior anyway and no water flow ditch would have been necessary. I haven't been to the area just east of that in a few years now. That would be a better indicator of whether this was a bog or not. My feeling is that it was not. Either way, it is a beautiful area.

Jeff

 

[NJSnakeMan]

woodjin you might not see it again. In the summer of 2003 i saw the toads every time i went on the trail. 04' barely and 05' none yet.