Connecticut Audubon Society at Glastonbury (4/29)

After driving home from Portland, Shannon and I stopped at the town park in Glastonbury. We walked the trails and I noticed that the forest floor was covered with Trout Lily. Shannon found some a couple of buds but they weren't open yet. This week the trails should be carpeted with yellow flowers.

As we approached the frog pond we could hear the trilling of hundreds of American Toads. We spotted one near the shore and sat and watched him for a while. It was amazing to see how much his throat sack inflated as he called. We walked around the pond and heard a Bullfrog or two calling as well. At one corner of the pond we several pairs of toads in amplexus. In the water near them were strings of eggs. The fresh strands looked like small black pearls. But, they were quickly covered with silt making them look like extremely long worms. I'm guessing that the water is going to be thick with tadpoles before too long.

As we turned to leave we heard a Belted Kingfisher call as he flew over the water. I wonder if he would eat the toad tadpoles.