Toads - the big push

[muscardinus]

Are any WABers helping out with toad patrols this spring? I'd be interested to hear how you've been getting on...

During the recent sunny spell it's been dry and also quite cool at night, so there's been very little action in my bit of Somerset - Hawkridge Reservoir, near the Quantocks. It seems as if there's a huge logjam of toads in the woods, just waiting for the big push!

But it looks like Tuesday and Wednesday nights this week might see lots of toads on the move - the evening forecast (at least round here) is for light rain and a min temp of 6°.

So far at Hawkridge we've had only one really big night when conditions were mild and wet enough - 7th Feb. Toads were popping up on the roadside literally everywhere, including some couples already in amplexus. We probably helped several hundred across in about two hours (I got 60), plus a few palmate newts.

[Hedge Witch]

Hi muscardinus,

Very interesting thread.

So we are looking for mild/humid/wet conditions?

Do you know what the minimum temperature should be?

[muscardinus]

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

Hi muscardinus,

So we are looking for mild/humid/wet conditions?

Do you know what the minimum temperature should be?

Yes that's right - cloudy and drizzly is good I think. But I'm not an expert so don't know about the exact temperature. I've just been told that they can't/don't move when it's chilly.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Havn't been out with a group of people...didn't know these groups existed to be honest but must have saved nearly 500 (with probs some the same) from crossing the road to the safety of the stream etc. There are literally thousands that cross in about a mile of road. Unfortunately I do miss some and there are a few casualities on the road each night. But I always go home thinking I have saved many more than the number that perished. The main migration time in my area seems to be from about half an hour before dusk to 2 hours after. Then it seems to settle down.

[Owen81]

Well done everyone who does this- would be interested in hearing if there were any places in north london that needed help.

Am I too late this year?

Cheers
Owen

[Hedge Witch]

Conditions here don't seem to have been right since I read this post. There is an add on for Google Earth that gives Toad crossings, but I don't recall any in North London, Owen.

Here is the thread:

toad crossings on google earth

[Dutchess]

These posts remind me of when I went to Florida in August 2003. August is of course, their rainy season and whilst we were out there we had a lot of rain. Driving back to our home of a night time was impossible, I would get out of the car, walk slowly in front of it and herd the little things from the road, at a very, very slow pace so that we would not squash hundreds of little lives simply by putting the car back into the car port!

D.

[GerryNick2]

We have been helping with the annual rescue for a number of years now at Sherfield On Loddon, Basingstoke. The toads and frogs have to cross a country road to get to their spawning grounds, unfortunately they run a greater risk from traffic since the opening of a new golf club.

We usually do three nights a weeks as part of a rota. The temperature usually needs to be above 6°C for the toads to start migrating and wet conditions also helps.

We started on 2 March this year after the first pair were spotted, our last patrol was on 20 March when we found very few suggesting the migration is now over.

Numbers this year have again declined. Possibly due to new ponds on the golf course being colonised. As a group in excess of 1000 frogs, toads and newts have been safely transported across the road over the 3 week period.

There are several photographs in the Amphibian and Reptiles Gallery taken during this years night rescue operations.

Gerry

[muscardinus]

Well, the big push never happened - hardly a toad in sight. We saw only 3 last night, all skinny, eggless females on their way back from the reservoir to the woods on the other side of the road, having already bred.

As Gerry says, it seems that the breeders have all gone across now.

The total count at Hawkridge will be very low this year. The unpredictable weather hasn't helped - it's been so dry this March, and also very cold at night - so perhaps the toads have been crossing later, in the middle of the night, or simply on evenings when there were no volunteers out. Perhaps they just escaped our attention.

Another possibility is that the mild weather followed by the vicious cold snap in Feb somehow affected the toads' usual hibernation and migration strategy. I don't know, but maybe that could explain it?

[Hedge Witch]

Hi all, so am I to assume that is it - it's finished?