A unique ‘Toads on the Roads’ Fourth Patrol Season
Toad patrols started along Coombe Road on 4 February 2024 and finished on 16 March 2024. A total of 813 toads were found (497 males, 194 females and 122 squashed toads) and most were successfully moved across the road and placed near the pond. There was a significantly lower number of newts migrating, compared to last year. 248 which around 100 less than last year, unfortunately 17 of these were found squashed. A possible explanation of this large variation in numbers compared with previous years is that we had a very mild and wet winter. The migration started over two weeks earlier than previous years. The first few nights it started, saw very heavy rain. We think this trigged a mass migration in the midnight hours, and this may be when large numbers of newts migrated. A local motorist who was driving along the road in the patrol area saw large numbers of toads on the roads at 1.00 am, there were no toad patrols out at this time. We recorded 42 dead toads in the first few days. We will have to patrol a few more seasons to understand why there is a variation 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.