Natterjack Toad
Identification: Robust, relatively short-limbed toad. Dry, warty skin. Broad, short head with a round snout. Length up to 7.5 cm. Horizontal, elliptical pupil. Iris light yellow to yellowish green. Large, flat, parallel paratoid glands. Eardrum visible, but not very clear. Back colour grey, brown, yellowish or greenish. Large scattered reddish brown warts on the back. A thin yellow stripe over the middle of the back and sometimes an irregular pattern of dark, greenish spots. Belly grey to whitish, often with dark spots. Relatively short hind limbs with poorly developed webbing. Males are smaller than females and have thicker forelimbs and in the breeding season dark nuptial pads on the first three fingers and a blue to purple tinge on the throat (vocal sac). Outside the breeding season the throat in males is dark, in females cream coloured.
Range: Occurs in a large part of mid- and west Europe. Also in parts of Eastern Europe up to the Ukraine. Distribution in the British Isles: Now confined to a handful of carefully monitored sites in the UK. A very restricted natural distribution in north-west England and adjoining Scotland from Merseyside to the Solway Firth, in coastal Lincolnshire and Norfolk, and at one site in Hampshire. In some other places it is now extinct, although it has been reintroduced into places in North Wales, Dorset and Bedfordshire. Also present in Kerry, south-west Ireland.
Habitat: In the north of its range, including the British Isles, the Natterjack Toad lives almost exclusively in sandy places such as coastal dunes and lowland heaths. In Cumbria and Scotland, populations are also thriving on upper salt marshes and upland moors. The favoured habitat is always open and unshaded with areas of bare ground where foraging is easy. Also on industrial estates and military training grounds. They favour dynamic environments and often appear first in new biotopes such as quarries and raised terrains. A real pioneering species. For breeding, individuals use mainly shallow, sunny, temporary, small pools that are poor in vegetation. Sometimes also in brackish water. In the south of Europe, the species is found in a much wider range of habitats; in Spain they can be found up to altitudes of 2200 metres.
Habits: Mainly nocturnal, young animals sometimes also active during daytime. Very good in colonizing new habitats, has little binding to breeding sites. Sometimes moves miles away from water. Breeding takes place mostly from April to June. Migration is more spread and not as massive as in the Common Toad. Breeds preferably in shallow, sun-exposed water with poor vegetation, often in new and/or temporary small bodies of water. Produces, mainly in April and May, 1-2 metres long strings containing 2000-4000 eggs. Initially these are arranged in pairs, but by stretching they soon become singular. Depending on the water temperature, the larvae hatch after 2-12 days. They are 6-8 mm long and develop quickly. The larvae feed mainly on vegetable matter like algae and switch gradually to animal matter. They grow up to 3 cm long and often metamorphose after only 1 to 2 months. The newly metamorphosed toads are 6-12 mm long and are diurnal in the beginning. Just before the end of the metamorphosis the stripe on the back becomes visible. Usually they mature after 2 years. Natterjack Toads can cope with high salt levels in the water and high water temperatures. When disturbed, they run away in short bursts like a mouse, but they are also able to make small hops. Climbs well on steep banks etc. Hides in holes under ground during the day, or beneath stones and logs etc. They feed on small invertebrates such as insects and earthworms. Hibernates on land, in burrows under ground.
How to find: In the evening they betray themselves by their call. They also can be found in the evening by searching with a torch in suitable places.
Call: Loud, rattling and very penetrating "èr
èr
èr
". Similar to the call of a Mole Cricket or Nightjar, but is much louder. Calls mainly at night, begins shortly before sunset. Sometimes also heard in the day.