Hi Tweeters,

Western Toads are a species of concern in western WA. Many
populations are in steep decline and others are already extirpated.
If you see a western toad anywhere in western WA please send the Marc
Hayes at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife at
hayesmph at dfw.wa.gov. Include in your message your name, date, time of
day, state, county, lat/lon, location, and notes/behavior.

I also saw a western toad recently at the south end of Discover Bay
biking up a steep grade (approx 21 percent! I think the toad was
moving faster than I was) on October 28. This was the first toad I
have seen away from the Fort Lewis area.

RR
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Russell, Mary, Emily, Willie, and Paddy
219 South Second Ave
Sequim WA 98382
(360) 582-3781
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On Nov 23, 2008, at 7:17 PM, Gary Bletsch wrote:

> Dear Tweeters,
>
> Thanks to Ryan Merrill for giving me the impetus to try for the
> Blue Jay on Pleasant Ridge. I'd been too lazy, then too busy, to go
> for this bird, and then figured that it was gone. Today, though,
> the bird was easy to see. Also in the brush, just a hundred meters
> north of the Blue Jay spot, was a Hutton's Vireo.
>
> However, the find of the day was a toad! Coincidentally, I have
> been reading "The Wind in the Willows" to my sixth-grade class of
> late. It's the first time I've picked up that book in about 35
> years. My pupils have had a tough time with the vocabulary and
> syntax, but they have been patient. Anyway, toads, specifically a
> certain Mr. Toad, have been on my mind these past weeks. Meanwhile,
> it has been at least ten years since I saw a toad in Washington,
> although I used to have them in my yard at Concrete. As a matter of
> fact, I used to see them all the time in forest habitats, but they
> seem to have disappeared, even from the hinterlands.
>
> The toad I found today was a wee one, walking very slowly across
> Valentine Road. The macadam was nice and warm, but I am sure this
> particular Master Toad would have ended up the victim of a motor-
> car, had he been left to his own feeble devices. I picked him up
> and put him in the leaf litter a few meters into the woods, no
> doubt to effect a reunion with Mole and Rat.
>
> Have other Tweeters seen many non-literary toads of late?
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Gary Bletsch Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA
> garybletsch at yahoo.com
>
>
>
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