Fowler’s Toad at Scott’s Run

We’re at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in Virginia. It’s not very big and it’s hemmed in on all sides. One of the sides is the Potomac River. There’s a clear bubbling stream through it which leads to a beautiful waterfall and since I’m wearing walking boots with an all-in-one tongue I’m having a splash through the water.

At our feet is a toad:

It’s so perfectly matched to the colour of the stones it’s almost invisible, until it walks onto a bluish rock:

There are many species of toad. Like most amphibians their populations are in steep decline. This one looks like a Fowler’s Toad, Anaxyrus fowleri:

I love it.

Don’t you?