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.