Numbers Considerably Down – ‘Toads on the Roads’ Sixth Patrol Season
The Toad and Newt Patrols for 2026 have now finished. They started earlier than usual on 5th February, and ended officially on 29 March, though no toads or newts were found after 6th March. The numbers of toads was significantly down from last year: 699 for 2025 & 491 for 2026. The number of newts was very significantly down from last year: 541 for 2025 & 145 for 2026. It may be that a number moved late in the evening or night when there were no patrols out, but we did not see an excess of casualties on the road. Also the long dry summer of 2025 may have contributed to the reduction in numbers.
Background to Toads on the Roads
You may not know about it, but East Meon is the site of an annual massacre! This happens in late winter or early spring when common toads start a mass migration back to their breeding ponds, usually on the first warm, damp evenings of the year, often around St. Valentine’s Day. The most significant area for this migration in East Meon is to the large pond north of Duncombe Wood and to the east of Coombe Road. See the map above.
The East Meon Nature Group has decided to help alleviate this toad massacre by starting a ‘Toad Patrol’ to help the creatures safely cross the road. With help and guidance from an organisation called Froglife https://www.froglife.org (yes, they also support toads) we have registered the toad crossing with the Department of Transport register of amphibian migratory crossings. Froglife also supply a patrol pack http://www.froglife.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Toad-Patrol-Pack-for-Managers.pdf that gives practical and safety guidance. Froglife also supply insurance cover for all the volunteers when carrying out this work.
If you would like to volunteer for the 2025 season Toad Patrol, please contact us at eastmeonnature@gmail.com.
Toads tend to start moving around dusk and will continue into the night, depending on how cold it is, usually you only need to patrol during the first part of the evening when there is a high likelihood of them encountering traffic.