Species Focus - Common Toad (Bufo bufo)

It’s that time of year when adult Toads (Bufo bufo) abandon their hibernation sites on land and head en masse to their breeding ponds. Toads can be surprisingly difficult to spot at other times of the year, as they are largely nocturnal, secreting themselves under thick vegetation, rocks and rotting logs. Only now can you truly appreciate how many are in your area as they congregate at their ponds.

During the day you might hear the odd plaintive croak emanating from a pond margin, but at night they lose their inhibitions. Sadly, Toads often need to cross busy roads at night on their annual migration, and many are run over in the process.

Toads spawn in deep water, unlike Common Frogs which favour shallow marginal areas or even temporary puddles like wheel ruts on tracks! Another difference is that Frogs lay their spawn in clumps as opposed to Toads which lay strings of eggs.

Please submit your Toad records to the Cofnod ORS or the LERC Wales app, as it’s very useful to know where Toads breed and to identify migration routes which cross roads.