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Steven Lawson Photography

Love is in the, er, water.
Common toads (Bufo bufo) competing for mates and laying spawn in the pond they themselves were born in, in Largs, North Ayrshire.
Their "ribbit" chorus was charming.

Colour landscape-format image shows a large female toad paired with a much smaller male toad as they go through the mating process in early Spring. Each has the typical copper-coloured eye with a black, horizontal slit pupil. Even though this pairing were firmly fixed together, other males were still trying to mate with the female - there is another male below the water's surface clinging to her abdomen.
A small male toad clings to two reeds at the water's edge, his long back legs and enormous feet splayed out for balance below the surface. In the foreground can be seen clusters of spawn, with the tiny black dot at the centre of each egg.
A mass of toad spawn glistens in the late afternoon sun, with the tiny black embryos clearly visible in each egg. Soon they will become tadpoles, then fully formed toads. Those that survive will return to this same pond to mate as adults.
A male toad guards the spawn in the pond where he himself was born. Note the dazzling, bright copper-coloured eye with its black horizontal slit, and the knobbly, ridged skin of his back.
Mar 12, 2025, 06:19 AM·Public·IceCubesApp
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