I recently renovated my yard to remove 4700sf of lava rock and replace it with some new soil and lots of wood chips. Then I seeded the front yard with several kinds of high-growing clovers. I also dug post holes to install a fence. A week ago I was excavating a post hole that had been drilled some months ago, but was filled loosely with soil and wood chips. I shoveled the soil into a wheel barrow and moved it to the backyard for fill. As I was grading out the soil, something moved. I identified him as a California toad, named him Trevor (sorry for lack of originality) and left him to find his way back out front. Two days later, while vacuuming out a cleared posthole for post setting, I brought Trevor up on the end of the vacuum, with some surprise. He was OK after a few minutes, then hopped off. Since then, I've seen him wedged down in the set postholes where the backfill will go, and out in the front yard at night hopping around on the noisy dry leaves.

I would like to maintain a friendly habitat for Trevor and his bro. We have a relatively clean canal 3 houses down, and I suspect that's where he came from. I think he recently found my house amenable because of the damp holes and plentiful bugs with all of the green, the moisture, and the cover. I also don't want to step on him accidentally. He does seem to be flashlight aware and lets off a proximity alert when I'm in the vicinity of the post holes. I also dug a hole just for him. Any suggestions for maintaining a toad-friendly habitat? Is he in any danger from cats, squirrels, or crows?