Had a nice surprise when I came home yesterday evening (Feb 22nd) from dinner. It was around 7:30 PM here in Tampa, and when I stepped out of my car, my ears were greeted to the distant trills of calling Southern Toads. The temperature at the time was right around 70 F, with enough humidity to be noticeable. It hasn't rained since last Tuesday, which was a relatively cool rain as it caused temperatures to drop on the backside.
I must say, I was completely surprised to hear them breeding this early in the year as I don't recall hearing them until April last year. It seems to me that the sudden upswing in temps from a low of almost 32 F Friday morning to a high of around 78 F Sunday brought them out in force. They are calling again tonight as well. The habitat is a pond with fairly thick vegetation along most of the banks. The toads were calling from on top of the vegetation over several inches of water. From my experience, I tend to hear them calling from flooded ditches and depressions, but this was definitely suitable habitat for them.
I was wondering if anyone else in Central/Southern Florida has ever heard Southern Toads calling this early in the season. It was definitely a full chorus - I estimate at least two dozen individuals calling from the pond. Here's a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N0oXD7 ... e=youtu.be
Took a few somewhat-decent photos as well:



Look forward to any inputs you all may have. Here are the breeding windows for other Frogs down here (just the ones I've narrowed down):
Green Treefrog: Early April thru Mid October
Squirrel Treefrog: April/May thru Late September (all depends on rains)
Eastern Narrowmouth: April/May thru Late September (depends on rains)
Florida Leopard Frog: Year-round, but with peak breeding Mid-November thru Mid/Late February
Bullfrog: Intermittently Spring thru Fall