Friends and family sometimes ask what my most terrifying wildlife encounter has been. Getting charged by a bull elephant was exhilarating. Walking next to a testosterone-pumped red deer stag during the annual rut at Richmond Park had me shaking with adrenaline. But hands down, the encounter that strikes fear into my heart whenever I recall it is the march of the toadlets.
Toadlet exodus
We were finishing up our walk at Glen Moss nature reserve when we spotted movement on the path ahead. I paused, looked down, and noticed a toadlet perilously close to my foot. And then I saw another. Then another. We quickly realised that the whole path, and surrounding grass, was covered in them. Hundreds of diminutive but determined amphibians were crawling and leaping across the track in front of us. Watching this exodus was adorable until we realised that we had to negotiate the tiny travellers to get back home. What followed was ten minutes of terror as we tried to step over and around them. I remember checking the bottom of my walking boots, dreading seeing a flattened body, hoping we had been careful enough. Scary stuff.
As it’s amphibian week, I want to share some of my less terrifying experiences and tips for photographing frogs and toads.
Tenacious toad
During a walk last April, we paused by a reservoir in the sun, listening to the chaffinches and watching a raven fly over. When we finally got up to continue, we saw the toad in the image below making its way through the grass a short distance away. I sprawled out on the ground to get as low as possible and captured a few images. I had my 80-400mm lens and was a decent way away from my subject – due to the minimum focusing distance – meaning I could shoot away without disturbing the progress of the toad.
Although we spotted this common toad during the day, they are mainly nocturnal and usually spend the daytime in shallow burrows to conserve their energy. We may have disturbed this toad in its burrow, or perhaps it was just making its way to the water to mate anyway.
Find out more about toad crossings
Following frogs around
The common frog in the image below was another surprise sighting on a walk around Loch Ardinning back in March. We came around the corner, and I noticed it sitting at the other end of the path. Luckily, we could see the water it was hopping steadily towards, so it was a case of sitting back and letting it do its thing while trying to prevent it from getting stepped on. While chaperoning from a distance, I laid down on a nearby patch of grass and captured a few images.
Despite being found across the UK, the common frog is thought to be declining in numbers here. The introduction of disease and the disappearance of its breeding habitats are the causes of this drop, which is why the humble garden pond is vital for this species. The visiting common frog will do the keen gardener a few favours by eating slugs and snails. During winter, these frogs will shelter in places like compost heaps or stay buried in mud and vegetation until they are ready to breed in the spring. Maybe this frog had just emerged from its winter hideout.
If you enjoy photographing wildlife, you will know the importance of getting down to the eye level of your subject. That change in perspective can make a huge difference to the impact of your image, but it is not always easy. I have stretched out in many puddles to try and get down to the height of the wildlife I am photographing! To get the image below, I stood at the bottom of a slope near the water while the frog was at the top. I would recommend looking for a subject in an elevated position like this, as it allows you to capture those intimate images without having to lie down to get them.
It was lucky we decided to hang around to monitor this frog as I had to warn a young couple heading down the path about it. The pair were pretty wrapped up in each other and – as well as being massively upsetting for me – a squashed frog may have ruined their mood. I think the man thought the frog sighting was worth pointing out, while I got the distinct impression the woman thought I was crazy. Soon after, the frog appeared on the final stretch towards the pools, heading away from the path, and I could finally relax. Hopefully, it stayed put after all that effort. I love close encounters like these but prefer the ones that are a little less stressful for all concerned. Although at least this was just one frog at risk and not hundreds of potential toadlet victims.
Don’t have nightmares.