As the Kairos garden matured we continued our quest to draw nature in by creating a large pond. One of my favourite season sounds is the mating call of the endangered Western Leopard Toad (Amietophyrus pantherinus). It is a characteristic sound of August. The Hout Bay population (top left dot on the map) is interestingly isolated from other known locations.

We usually have one or two of the toads in our garden a little earlier – they often sit outside our kitchen door at night. I love to listen to the toads at night – their calls eventually fill the air with a cacophony of sound as they congregate to breed at the pond. This usually happens over a short period of a few days, hence they are called “explosive breeders”.

I wasn’t sure if we would see the toads this year, given the severe drought that we are experiencing. They are at their most active at night, but perhaps due to the dry weather they continued after dawn this morning during a brief morning shower.

As you can see, they have the most beautiful markings, and fortunately they are easy to photograph because they like to call from open areas of water. On a good year, for toads that is, the pond is full of tadpoles and our garden comes alive with tiny toadlets. They can be seen during the day – I often rescue them from the swimming pool.

The distribution of Western Leopard Toads in the Cape Peninsula. Source: www.leopardtoad.co.za