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Wilder Diaries: Toads on Roads

Toads crossing sign in Stalisfield Road by Pam Fray, via geograph.org

We spoke to Lyn from Sustainable Ashprington to find out about their yearly toad patrols…
Toad on street, looking pensive, but not necessarily forlorn

As the weather starts to warm up, toads, frogs and newts begin their annual migration back to the waterbodies they were born in to mate and spawn. They will follow the same route every year, with migrations starting from as early as January to as late as April. Their journey can be perilous, particularly when it comes to crossing roads. Slow-moving, small, and camouflaged, amphibians are incredibly vulnerable when making these crossing and sadly an estimated two tons of toads are killed on roads each year.

This is where ‘toad patrols’ come in, where volunteers armed with buckets and nets help them cross the road. 

Sustainable Ashprington runs a toad patrol on the junction of three roads in Millpond Cross, between Tuckenhay and Cornworthy. The toads make their way down the hillside and drop down the bank, choosing the busiest part of the junction to attempt a crossing. Over the years the traffic has eroded the bank, making their journey even more difficult - toads get trapped, and the steeper banks tire them out more. Without the toad patrols, many would perish on this journey.

Toads crossing sign in Stalisfield Road by Pam Fray, via geograph.org

Toads crossing sign in Stalisfield Road by Pam Fray, via geograph.org

The patrols were initially started by Mike Pearey, who since 2018 had been stopping to help toads on his way home from Parish council meetings. In 2020, he registered Millpond Cross as a ‘Toad Migration Area’ with Froglife and applied for a grant to install two ‘Toad Highway’ signs. The road signs, made by disabled veterans, went up in January 2021 and a few ‘Toad Wardens’ joined Mike on his patrols that year, recording almost 1000 toads. 

Things really kicked off for the group in 2022 thanks to social media, with more toad wardens joining the team. Now around 15 volunteers, the group work tirelessly to raise awareness online and in their community about why the migration happens and why we need to do our bit to protect our local amphibians. Though the group experienced some resistance in the beginning, and a lack of awareness about slowing down and avoiding the toads, they have noticed a gradual change within the community.

Toad walking across wood chip

Credit Oli Haines

The group are supported by Froglife as part of their ‘Toads on Roads’ project and send them the data they collect about migration numbers each year. This year there were less toads on the road but overall, they noticed that the health of the animals was hugely improved from the year before! 

 

This year, the overall number of animals moved (during main traffic flow) were…

  • 437 toads 
  • 54 newts 
  • 14 frogs 
  • 87 toads recorded dead

The group are doing fantastic work to help their local amphibians. If you’re feeling inspired, why not see if there’s a toad patrol in your local area or set one up yourself? While most migrations will be finished for the year, it’s never too early to start planning for next year’s patrol season.

Find out more about Froglife’s ‘Toads on Roads’ project, including how to register your local road as a nationally recognised toad migration route, here. 

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