Featuring my first newt
I have been to toad patrol every evening since I joined the group, and my assistance count is now at 129 toads, 1 frog, and now, 1 newt. I noticed some movement in the road and sincerely hoped the approaching car would straddle it, but luckily the young lad stopped so I could head into the road and collect this little fella:
There were also 3 toads rescued by some passing runners, which we added to our tally as it’s important to get the data over to Froglife. I found one toad heading up the road, which is always a bit confusing as they could be going to either pond; there is a large lake on one side of the road and a small pond on the other, and of course once they have spawned, they head back to their territory so it can get a bit confusing. I put the toad by the gate of the property with the big lake – that’s our default – but she turned around and marched up the driveway back towards the road.
I carried her back over the road and she strode up the bank towards the other pond in a determined fashion.
It has been warmer and drier for the last couple of days, and yesterday was positively spring-like. Toads prefer it damp but there is one stretch of road about 100 yards long where it is very shaded, and the tarmac stays wet, and this seems to be where a lot of the crossings are concentrated. Of course, it’s on a blind bend so we have to be very careful with making sure we are seen but people do mostly slow down as soon as they spot us and out buckets. We have torches and head-torches and wear reflective and bright clothing, but it’s definitely better when there are a number of us as drivers take more notice. The dry conditions meant we were followed by a couple of bats who were enjoying the flying insects attracted by our lamps. I also retrieved a moth and a few spiders from the road as their eyes show up as tiny green pinpricks. Fascinating stuff!
Migration lasts about 6 weeks, and were are about halfway through. I am away next week for a few days so I will be attending patrols when I’m free, and there might be some follow-up survey work to do which will be nice. We all meet for a drink at the local pub once the season is over, and it’ll be strange to see people in regular garb rather than hats and hoods and day-glo workwear!
