Heartwarming story to end Monday’s news
Croaky! Local bus company puts the brakes on to allow hundreds of toads to make perilous journey across busy road to breed - Woodland Trust
Each night, a sleepy corner of the country is being turned into a march of the amphibians as hundreds of toads and newts make a perilous journey across a busy road to breed.
This mass migration to the Woodland Trust owned Haddon Wood, near Castle Cary, Somerset, has even led buses to stop and allow the toads to cross, and local truckers to change their route to protect the toads - who are being ably assisted by a team of committed volunteers.
On suitable evenings, after dusk, the toad patrollers hop into action by sticking on their boots, donning hi viz jackets and, armed with torches, spend hours helping the toads across the road towards the woodland, to safety. The toads are making an intrepid journey from spending the year in vegetation and damp areas - towards a pond to spawn.
Woodland Trust volunteer Hilary Harrison said the migration began in February and over several weeks the patrol will save hundreds of common toads, as well as protecting great crested and smooth newts.
She said: “When the land for Haddon was donated in 2013, the Woodland Trust agreed to install a pond. With their help and that of a group of volunteers we made a natural pond which we decided to leave for nature to takeover. Clearly lots of amphibians have taken a liking to the pond; they’ve spawned here before and this year the mass migration shows they are coming back to do so again. I could get very depressed with the state of the world, and this feels like just a tiny thing that some of us can do, that really makes a difference. If it encourages other people to set up toad patrols and help, then it’s a good thing.”
More on:
Posted On: 21/03/2022