didn't USED to be "unusual".

[hardertr]

I'm posting this here because I now realize how "unusual" this has become.....




Growing up, i used to see "horny toads" EVERYWHERE....and this was less than 40 years ago.  They used to run across the gravel road I walked everyday on my way to and from the school bus.


Just tonight, my 4 year old son found a little metal "horny toad" trinket I had sitting on my dresser.  It really did hurt me, deep down inside, to tell him, "you will probably never see one of these".  I miss those little guys!

[Victor3]

 Same here (So. CA).
 
 As a kid I kept them as pets and would rotate them out every couple weeks because it was so easy to catch new ones. Haven't seen a single one in ~30 years in areas where they used to be common as dirt.
 
 My Son thought I was pulling his leg when I told him how they squirt blood out of their eyes when threatened. Had to show him proof on the internet, instead of real life. 
 
 

[GeneRector]

   Howdy! I saw them too when I was a kid in Central Texas. I have not seen one since about then. Also, bobwhite quail were plentiful back in the early 1960's; however, you would be hard pressed to find one around where I now live. What will be the next critter to go from plentiful to down right scarce? Always,
Gene
 
 

[briarpatch]

Where'd they go?

[GeneRector]

Where'd they go?    Habitat and environmental changes, I suppose. Always, Gene   

[Specklebelly]

Where'd they go?    Habitat and environmental changes, I suppose. Always, Gene   

  We had them in western Oklahoma as well, not any more.  I think I read once they are victims of pesticides.  No more bugs = no more food.

[hillbill]

Where'd they go?    Habitat and environmental changes, I suppose. Always, Gene   

  We had them in western Oklahoma as well, not any more.  I think I read once they are victims of pesticides.  No more bugs = no more food.
[/quote
 
that could be? we have the same deal here in MO with bullfrogs.allthough its sure not lack of bugs! in the early 80's when i was a kid it was nothing to go frog hunting and catch 20 or 30 nice large bullfrogs for your supper.now in the same ponds i hunted back then you would be lucky to find 1 or 2 if any at all big enuf to eat.in fact i havent seen a frog big enuf to eat in years. the farmers around here dont use a lot of pesticides but do use a lot of liquid fertilizers and herbicides.

[45-70.gov]

The horny toad is not
really a toad at all, but
rather a horned lizard.
This makes it a reptile, not
an amphibian. Its genus
name Phrynosoma means
‘toad bodied’ referring to a
toad-like appearance with
a broad body and lumpy
skin. Resembling a
miniature dragon and
distantly related to
tyrannosaurus,
http://www.azfcf.org/docs/DAC/Horny-Toads.Hoss.pdf

[Victor3]

Where'd they go?    Habitat and environmental changes, I suppose. Always, Gene   

  We had them in western Oklahoma as well, not any more.  I think I read once they are victims of pesticides.  No more bugs = no more food.

 That wouldn't be the case in areas where I'd seen them in the Mojave desert and local mountains. Their main food is ants, and we've still got loads of them all over the place.

[hardertr]

Where'd they go?

I don't know if there is any truth to it, but I've heard the explosion in fire ant population down here put a pretty good dent in their range.  The fire ants also catch some of the blame for the declining quail and turkey population.  I do know we've had to save a couple newborn calves from being eaten alive by ants.  It doesn't take long for a swarm to completely cover anything that doesn't have the ability to move to safer ground.

[mechanic]

All our pigeons are gone.  All of them.  Haven't seen a pigeon in a couple years or more.  Not anywhere in my area at all???
 
Ben

[popplecop]

Thanks for the article 45-70 Gov.  Most informative, did not realize that they were disappering.

[GeneRector]

All our pigeons are gone.  All of them.  Haven't seen a pigeon in a couple years or more.  Not anywhere in my area at all???
 
Ben    Howdy! In Texas pigeons are called "feral rock doves" by Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. Pigeons have no protection and may be hunted and killed anytime and nests destroyed. My cousin and some of his neighbors raised pigeons and had buyers for them. And now, like Ben said, you don't see many anymore. Always, Gene   

[Duke0313]

Horny toads have disappeared here in N. Texas mostly due to the arrival of fire ants. Fire ants have displaced the big black ants that were the bulk of the reptile's diet. Nature really is a fragile lady.

[Ranger99]

used to see 'em all the time
when i was a kid


it's a shame young folks will
likely never see a live one
in the wild 

[mechanic]

Gene,   In our area, pigeons were everywhere and were a nuisance, nesting and brooding over doorways, making a general mess.  I used to tell people, if we ever get in a bind, we can eat those big fat city doves.
 
All at once it seems, there are none to be seen.
 
I believe the municipalities fed them something....no biggie, it's just odd.
 
Ben

[oldandslow]

The horny toads have become scarce here also in just the last 3 or 4 years. I saw two in the pasture earlier this summer and thought that they might be returning. Probably not as I haven't seen one in weeks now. I have several red ant dens in the area where they were that are doing good but no sign of horny toads around them now.

The fire ants haven't made it here so they aren't a factor in the population decline in this area. Another thing missing are ordinary lizards , both the little brown @ tan ones and the larger lined ones. There is also a larger lizard that I've forgotten the name of that I've always had a couple of running around until a couple of years ago and they are gone. I'm blaming it on the extreme drouth conditions the last two years in the case of the lizards. The insect population is way down except for ants.

[Ranger99]

usta look forward every bow season to seeing
the little paisano bird that runs the south fence
at my place. haven't seen it this year at all.

[Victor3]

 That reminds me of another 'missing' species in my area. Haven't seen a single cowbird in at least ten years. Used to be so many around here that they'd just about block out the sun at times.