A “Threefer”

Southern toads vary from brick red to gray and are common in our yard. Every morning (without fail I hasten to add) Gabby our little “Heinz terrier” accompanies me from house to the street to fetch our newspapers. Again I state that she accompanies and I fetch. Usually the short stroll is uneventful, but occasionally Gabby is in a hunting mode. The morning following our last rainfall was one of her hunting trips. In the darkness, within a few feet of the door, she managed to scare up an eastern spadefoot, Scaphiopus holbrooki, a southern toad, Bufo terrestris, and a southern leopard frog, Rana sphenocephala. For me, 3 anuran species before 6AM is a pretty good start for the day. The fact that all 3 taxa breed in the yard did not lessen Gabby’s accomplishment in the least. At least in her eyes it didn’t. Maybe I should start taking her with me on hunts for more difficult species. She seems to do much better than I.

Common although not often seen, Gabby nudged its cover of leaves from this eastern spadefoot.

This was one of the prettier southern leopard frogs that I've seen in the yard. Thanks, Gabby.