Tiny Eastern American Toads
It’s starting to rain baby toads again! There are literally hundreds of these adorable little toads hopping around underfoot. When we first start to see them about this time of year, they are about the size of a green pea and are too tiny and undefined to show up well in a photograph. The first ones we ever saw suddenly appeared one spring about four years ago, and we thought they were some kind of a bug until we picked one up and really examined it. 
What a surprise to discover that they were perfectly formed miniature baby toads! Although they grow as summer progresses and start to lose their fragile “see-through” look, by the time of the first frost they are still only the size of a kidney bean. They manage to make it through our harsh winters by burrowing into the ground. 
We love having toads in the garden. They are an unexpected interesting presence while we’re working outside, and the adult toads are such a help with insects. The tiny ones do make mowing the lawn somewhat of an adventure, though. My husband mows by walking backwards and pulling the mower so the toads can hop out of the way. As you can see from these pictures, these tiny toads are different colors, ranging from red and brown to yellow and orange, just like the adult toads. My favorites are the plain brown ones, which also seem to be the most plentiful.
Filed Under Critters Around Us, Captured Moments
Comments
Comment by Eric Meyers:
Yes! I was wondering about them. I saw them recently all over the ground at a campground in southwestern Michigan. The only other time I remember seeing toads or frogs that small was a few years ago in a meadow in Oregon. Those were more brightly colored and seemed more like frogs but they were about the same size - less than a 1/2 inch in length. I have no idea what species either are. They are certainly cute!
Comment by Shirley:
It’s funny, because I don’t remember seeing the tiny toads around here either until about four years ago. We do see a few of the tiny frogs, but we don’t see nearly as many of them as we see of the tiny toads. This year most of the little toads seem to be shades of brown, but last summer we had more different colors, including black, red, and cream, and there didn’t seem to be as many of the brown ones.
Comment by Isabelle:
Are these toads as cute for real as they look in the pictures? Gee — you have so much interesting animals and I love your pictures.
Comment by Shirley:
Yes Isabelle, they are adorable. They are so perfectly formed and yet so incredibly tiny. We do have an abundance of wildlife here… some like the coyotes and bear I wish would keep more of a distance… but I do like having the toads around. :o) And thanks!
Please leave a comment!