Toad Photography by Kozmic Dreams

My Digital Photography of

Wild Toads

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Front Yard, July 10, 2020

Leonard Preserve, June 21, 2020

Oakwoods Metropark, May 24, 2020

Tiny toad.

Sharon Mills County Park and Leonard Preserve, May 23, 2020

The first tiny toads of the year.

Highland Oaks County Park, May 16, 2020

On the shoreline of the large pond on this sunny afternoon, there were a bunch of male toads trying to mate with only a couple available females. This is the first time I've ever photographed toads with their throat sacs puffed out. I think this might have been near the end of the mating season since there were so few females and these males were especially large and feisty. The toad in the fourth from last photo seems to have something wrong with its eye and has some kind of deformity near its parotid gland.

Huron Meadows Metropark, April 2, 2020

The first toad of the year, resting in a vernal pond.

Patriot Park, September 29, 2019

This large male was in my favorite Daisy Field.

Yankee Springs State Park, September 16, 2019

This toad was nestled in at the base of a tree.

Patriot Park, August 3, 2019

Baby toad.

Crosswinds Marsh, September 16, 2018

This is exactly how this toad was. I did not put it on this sunny log.

"Sophia"

June 19, 2018

About a week ago, this toad was in my backyard, but it was nearly dark and I didn't take the time to photograph her markings, knowing I'd recognize her again by that triangular figure on her right lower back. I found her a second time after a couple days of 90+ degree weather on the sidewalk in front of my neighbor's house, looking confused. She was dehydrated and very docile. I put her in a small tank with some distilled water to sit in and actually observed her soak up about a tablespoon of water in about 45 minutes! I kept her overnight to soak. I discovered she would sit for a short time like a human, whereas most toads immediately flip themselves over. I remembered the dollhouse sofa on which I photographed Ike the Spadefoot in July 2008 and decided to take some photos of her sitting on it. I got a few before she decided she wanted to flip over (also pictured). Next, I showed her the new toad hole I made in the moss garden and she settled right in. I rewarded her efforts with three good-sized worms. She remained in the hole for about 2 hours, then went out hunting and has not returned to the hole.

Update: I found her again on July 10, 2018 near the doorwall. She was about twice the size, weighing in at 53 grams (unfortunately, I didn't take her initial weight). She was so large I thought for sure she was a different toad until I checked her markings. I didn't take any photos as it was almost sunset.

July 26, 2018

Later in July, I found her up to her waist in a garter snake's mouth in the moss garden, puffed full of air. I wouldn't normally interfere with a predator-prey interaction in nature, but I recognized immediately that this was Sophia! I grabbed the snake's head and the sides of its mouth and it quickly regurgitated her. Her hind legs were covered in blood. When I brought her in to wash her up and assess the wounds, I realized she was covered in some kind of gel that was difficult to remove, and seemed to be eating away at her skin---I guess the snake's digestive enzymes work very quickly. Some of her leg and foot skin was already peeling off. I set up a clean terrarium with fresh soil and I put polysporin on her wounds until they sealed over. She shed her skin a few times and got even larger, eating lots of crickets and worms, weighing in at nearly 70 grams at her heaviest. Here she is soaking in a dish. I put her in the human seated position, and she actually stayed like that for a little bit, just like she sat on the sofa.

August 20, 2018

I took these photos on August 20, 2018 and released her in the moss garden on the 22nd (after the rain storm had passed on the 21st). She seemed familiar with her surroundings and settled right in. I observed her hanging out there for a couple hours. Hopefully she is large enough that the snake won't try to eat her again. She is a very docile, friendly toad.

"Red Toad #2"

June 15, 2018

I had hoped this was the red toad from two years ago, but the markings did not match up. I was cleaning up a sawdust and woodpile and I scraped the ground with the dustpan and out hopped this toad! It was in the very bottom of the pile---it's a wonder I didn't hurt it while I was shoveling up the dust and throwing around chunks of wood. After a few shots in the moss garden, I decided to try photographing it in some of my new (as of last summer) bell flowers, and new (as of last week) Lobelias.

Kensington Metropark, June 10, 2018

South Chagrin Reservation, May 2, 2018

These toads were in a pond surrounded by a chorus of mating toads.

"Mr. Sandman"

July 28, 2016

About a week ago, I noticed a hole in the middle of one of my moss clumps. Thinking a bird just pulled the clump out, I started filling the hole with sand. It was unreasonably deep, but I filled it up to the top. I came back about 10 minutes later only to find my hole broken up and I saw something move beneath the soil. I reached in, and it was a male toad! I took him out, relocated him, and filled in the hole. Today, to my surprise, there was the hole again, in the same exact moss clump, re-dug! I put my finger in and felt a toad head a couple inches down. Then I watered the garden and he emerged from the hole. It was the same toad, just as I suspected! I took these photos of him coming out. It is very interesting to me how much of a sense of geography toads have, and how they are able to return to their favorite locations. Don, Goldfish Toad, and now, Mr. Sandman have helped me make this realization.

August 1, 2016

Here he is near his new sandy hole.

"Red Toad"

June 19, 2016

I first saw this toad in the moss garden about a week ago. It is one of the top three reddest toads I have ever seen. The other interesting thing is that it took up residence in the "red rock" area of my moss garden, where I keep my found reddish rocks. This toad matches very well with some of the rocks there, but it seems impossible that it would be aware of its coloration to choose this area, but who knows? Here, it is photographed in a different area, in my succulent garden. There are also photos of this toad with Don the Spadefoot. Click here to see them.

July 2, 2016

This time, I photographed this toad in its favorite area, where it can often be found, the "Red Rock" area. You can see how well its skin color matches with a couple of the rocks.

"Goldfish Toad"

June 26, 2015

I decided to call this toad "Goldfish Toad" because she has a marking that looks like a goldfish cracker on her back that is easily distinguishable. She has been hiding out in an area I specifically made into a nice, natural toad house with a piece of thick bark covering the top.

July 17, 2015

May 28, 2016

This is the second year this toad has taken up residence in my moss garden. What an incredible surprise! This time, she's been hiding underneath Don's favorite rock that he dug a hole under last year!

July 2, 2016

Here she is under her favorite rock. I put Red Toad on top for the second row of photos so they could be shown together--I usually don't know where both of them are at the same time.

July 13, 2016

July 20, 2016

I liked the last photo so much, I decided to make a Google Deepdream image out of it (the 10th image below).

I surprised her with a worm. After eating it, she changed locations and went back to her 2015 spot.

July 28, 2016

Goldfish Toad has been here every day this week. I just wanted to show how much space she takes up under the rock. The first photo shows her underneath the rock, and the second is with the rock removed.

August 5, 2016

Since her last photo shoot, she was here every day but one. On August 4, 2016, I fed her two worms that were sitting in my hand. She came out from under the rock to eat them right off my hand! She loved being pet afterward too. One of the first things I did every day was check for her and look for worms to feed her. She really brightened my day. Sadly, on today's check, I found her about 3 feet to the left of her rock, dead. I inspected her body and found two puncture marks on her abdomen near her hind legs. An animal must have bitten her in the night. I couldn't bear to look at her empty rock hole, nor have another toad take up residence there, so I made the hole a little deeper, buried her in her favorite spot, and put the rock on top, never to be home to a toad again. She sure was special to me and I will always miss her and think of her every time I look at that rock.

Pontiac Lake State Park, June 6, 2015

Waterloo, Eddy Discovery Center, September 20, 2014

This was a large docile toad with interesting cream-colored markings on her back.

Huron Meadows Metropark, August 16, 2014

Highland State Park, June 29, 2014

This toad was the largest I've seen since 1999. She was very timid, as you can see.

Pontiac Lake State Park, May 25, 2014

Holly State Park, September 29, 2012

Highland State Park, August 26, 2012

Proud Lake, August 12, 2012

Holliday Nature Preserve, July 4, 2012

Toad enjoying my moss garden on July 12, 2011

I went out to pick boysenberries and to my surprise, at my feet was this toad, nestled in the moss. I was glad to see a toad enjoying my moss garden so much.

Baby Toad in the Woods on July 26, 2008

On July 26, 2008, I was camping in Nelson, OH, thinking what a perfect day it was and how it would top everything off to see a toad. About a half hour later, I spotted this little baby in the dirt road hopping along.