Crapaud
The toad, once a familiar sight in Island ponds and waterways, is more commonly known in Jersey as the ‘crapaud’ - its name in the local patois, Jèrriais.
In recent years, however, the crapaud has been disappearing from the natural areas where it was once common, although it is known that many private garden ponds still host healthy populations of toads.
What does the toad look like?
The toad, which walks rather than jumps like a frog, is brown or olive in colour and has a warty skin, which tends to be drier than that of frogs.
Spawning
Toadspawn is usually laid in the spring and in Jersey appears as early as January. It is laid in long strings of perhaps thousands of small black eggs enclosed in clear jelly. It can be distinguished easily from frogspawn, which is produced in small clumps.
Gardener’s friend
Healthy toad populations are important to gardeners and farmers, as they can consume many thousands of insect pests and therefore reduce the need for chemicals.
Pondwatch JE
Pondwatch is a new project that aims to gather sightings of Jersey’s pondlife to help assess their conservation status, distribution and habitat requirements. This survey encourages local people to monitor and report the activity in their gardens and ponds. This information helps the project group to understand the Crapauds population status.
The Jersey Amphibian and Reptile Group's
Jersey Toad Factsheet provides lots of information and facts toads in Jersey.
gov.je