A Cold and Spasmodic ‘Toads on the Roads’ Fifth Patrol Season
Toad patrols started along Coombe Road on 20 February 2025 and finished on 28 March 2025. This was the latest start and finish to the season so far. The weather was very cold and dry for most of the season, interspersed with three short wet and mild periods. During one of these there was a record 221 toads on the move. A total of 699 toads were found (487 males, 162 females and 50 squashed toads) and most were successfully moved across the road and placed near the pond. There was a significantly higher number of newts migrating (541), compared to last year. This was around 200 more than last year, unfortunately 54 of these were found squashed.
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.