Today, we took a walk around the Whiteknights Lake in Reading, and guess what? We found 7 of these Common Toads! We found them by lifting
logs, and with this method, we even found 3 of them under the same log. They were in the beautiful Harris Gardens.
Common Toads look fat and warty, but they can be very interesting. For example, did you know that if they are startled they will exude a toxic puss-like liquid from their backs?
Diet:
They usually eat worms and insects of all sorts. When they are tadpoles, they will eat algae and water insects.
Appearance:
Large and warty, toads can be any colour from dark brown to a light beige. They have gold rimmed eyes and even have 2 sets of eyelids! One set is transparent and is lowered when they are swimming.
Toads lay long strings of eggs in the water, unlike their cousins the frogs, who lay large clumps of jelly-like eggs.
Habitat
These amazing amphibians live in many different habitats, including woodlands, gardens, ponds, parks, grasslands, and wetlands. They especially like damp places where they can hide during the day under logs, rocks, and leaves — just like the ones we found at Whiteknights Lake!
Common Toads are found across much of Europe and parts of Asia. You can see them in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Ukraine, and even parts of Russia.
Interesting Facts
- Unlike frogs, toads usually walk or crawl instead of making long jumps.
- A female Common Toad can lay up to 5,000 eggs at one time!
- Toads hibernate during winter, often hiding under compost heaps, logs, or deep leaf piles.
- They use special glands behind their eyes to release a poisonous liquid that helps protect them from predators.
- Even though they look slow, toads are excellent at catching fast-moving insects with their sticky tongues.
- Common Toads can live for more than 10 years in the wild.
- Every spring, many toads travel back to the exact pond where they were born to breed.
Sadly, Common Toad numbers are falling in some places because of habitat loss, roads, and pollution. Protecting ponds and green spaces helps these fascinating creatures survive for future generations.