Toading time again!

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It’s that time of year again – some of you may remember that I’ve written before about the toad patrol. A busy road passes through some local woods, cutting off the woodland where many toads hibernate from the deep ponds where they breed, so every spring they have to make the perilous journey across the road when conditions are right. The ‘toad patrol’ is a small group of volunteers who gather on the roadside at dusk to snatch up the brave toads from the road as they start the crossing and transport them over to the ponds. This is not as easy as it sounds as the stretch of road in question is over a mile long and the traffic is rushing past at 50 mph or more in the dark! The most difficult part of this whole endeavour is that it’s never obvious when the migration will begin. Ideally temperatures need to be 10°C or above, and conditions need to be damp. But of course there’s only so long they can wait, so as the season progresses they may take a chance when it’s not quite warm enough, or not quite wet enough. So from late January onwards someone has to check each evening for signs of activity, and be ready to call out the ‘troops’ if necessary. All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2018.