April 22, 2019
There was no rain in the forecast but this thunderstorm
came from the south as I was trying to get set up for bat photography.
It didn't rain much but it got pretty windy and some lightning.
After it got dark, I was watching the area around my bat setup to
make sure nothing comes in to disturb it, when I saw a large lump of
something where there had been no lump before. I got out my other camera and
lens, put on the flash and came back to find it still there. Jabba the Hutt?
No, it is a Sonoran Desert Toad! A lifer herp for me. After I splashed a little water
over it to clean it up this is what it looked like. It is living in a hole under
the water tank at Valentine Well. These are really big toads, the largest toad in the United States.
The skin produces very strong toxins.
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