Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Bufo boreas

During a day of botanizing the day before yesterday, 30 June 2015, at the property belonging to Judy Osborne - James River, N. of Sundre - this rather fine Western/Boreal Toad was spotted. As you can see, it can camouflage itself very well, even more so when not seen in macro size. Love its "smile". Just three of us went with Judy to visit her cabin (or, as she describes it, her "shack") and the surrounding forest and river. What a beautiful property she has - 100 acres of forest, meadow, and river valley - and we so appreciate her having us there to record the plants, insects, birds, etc. that we could find. I've never seen so many beautiful wild Roses! She also has a Great Gray Owl, but there was no sign of it when we were there. We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property. Judy very generously provided a delicious lunch for us, too, which we ate out on the deck, surrounded by busy little Pine Siskins visiting her bird feeder. Thanks so much for this absolute treat, Judy, and for driving the three of us out there from our meeting place in the city. We were so lucky with the weather, enjoying a day of sunshine. How things changed when we got back to Calgary. Our meeting place was near Chinook Mall and to drive home, I had to drive through flash flooding!! I don't remember ever having to drive through water like that! What a storm this part of the city must have had! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/flash-flooding-causes-prob... "The Western Toad or Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas) is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches. Compared to females, males have smoother skin, reduced dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet during breeding season. In juveniles of this species, the dorsal stripe is weak or absent. Large young have prominent dorsal and ventral spotting and yellow feet. Breeding occurs between March and July in mountainous areas, and as early as January in lower-elevation regions. The female lays up to 17,000 eggs stuck together in strings that adhere to vegetation and other objects along water edges ..... It is listed as near threatened largely due to the impact of disease and chemical contamination of the environment." From Wikipedia.

LOL, isn't he a handsome creature? Actually, he is rather fine, with all those coloured warts, ha. We rarely see these Western Toads, so we were really lucky when we were botanizing the Sundre Natural Area a few days ago, north west of Calgary. Status is Near Threatened. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_toad

This cute little Western Toad, Bufo boreas, was found at Bow Valley Provincial Park on Thursday. I always used to think that Toads were huge, so was surprised to learn that this little one was a Toad. Thanks, Doug, for patiently holding it - something that I could never do myself :) - while I took some photos. When he was released (the Toad that is, not Doug!), we were able to watch him swim a short way in the clear water. "Adult Western Toads have stocky bodies with short legs, and tend to walk rather than hop. Their thick skin appears dry and bumpy and can range in colour from pale green to grey, dark brown, and red. They typically have pale-coloured bellies mottled with black, and a pale coloured stripe down their backs. Their beautiful gold-flecked eyes have distinctive horizontal oval pupils. Behind each eye is a prominent oblong or kidney-shaped swelling called a parotoid gland. Adults range from 5.5 to 14.5 centimetres in body length, excluding the hind legs. Males are generally smaller than females and have dark pads on their thumbs that help them cling to the female during mating. Their skin is usually less rough and blotched than the females' skin." From www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch .

This is the little Western Toad that I photographed on Doug's hand and posted to Flickr a couple of days ago. Seen at Bow Valley Provincial Park, eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. "Adult Western Toads have stocky bodies with short legs, and tend to walk rather than hop. Their thick skin appears dry and bumpy and can range in colour from pale green to grey, dark brown, and red. They typically have pale-coloured bellies mottled with black, and a pale coloured stripe down their backs. Their beautiful gold-flecked eyes have distinctive horizontal oval pupils. Behind each eye is a prominent oblong or kidney-shaped swelling called a parotoid gland. Adults range from 5.5 to 14.5 centimetres in body length, excluding the hind legs. Males are generally smaller than females and have dark pads on their thumbs that help them cling to the female during mating. Their skin is usually less rough and blotched than the females' skin." From www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch .