Scottish Wildlife Blog: Kilpatrick Hills, West Dunbartonshire

Toad Rescue:

Toads are creatures of habit and become particularly reckless at this time of year, crossing busy motorways in their determination to return to their spawning waters. My dad's friend has a pond near him which the council have recently filled in. The toads, which have bred there for years, are returning (as they do every year) to discover....NO POND!
My dad offered to rehome as many toads as possible and I came over to help carry the toads in buckets.

firstly, some pictures of the guys (the females emerge slightly later!):

Common Toad (Bufo bufo) males

They were a noisy bunch! All of them were making a croaking/honking noise (reminiscent of distant Greylag Geese), probably at their distress at finding themselves in such close proximity with other male toads.

We deposited some toads at the pond below the Mohican Woods (above Gavinburn) and took the path leading up through the forest and over the Slacks. A lone Buzzard (Buteo buteo) circled low over our heads, inspecting us closely.

Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

As we approached the Humphrey and the light was beginning to fade, a Brown Hare (Lepus eauropaeus) ran onto the road ahead, turned, and began running down the road towards us. At the last minute it realized we were there (perhaps we had been in its blind spot) and darted under the fence and into the reeds and grasses.

Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)

We released the remaining toads into the pond beside the Humphrey Reservoir. The water was ice cold and my fingers got so numb I could scarcely operate my camera.