Patrols
Toadwatch patrols will be operating in these locations in 2012. 4 new patrols were started in 2011 so watch this space as others may start if new people come forward during the migration. See the Map page to see where all the patrols operate - the patrol pages below have individual maps. Please see the Contacts page if you would like to help a patrol.
People that help on patrols should complete a Froglife insurance form and return it to the patrol coordinator. Each patrol will provide training but the notes below apply to most patrols.
What you need – warm clothes, torch (good for 2 hours), bucket (clean with a little water in the bottom), hi viz jacket. Toads are harmless but you may want to bring gloves. Some patrols recommend bringing a whistle to attract attention from other patrollers when help with lots of toads is needed.
Counting Toads - we keep counts of the toads, frogs and newts that we move from the road - both dead and alive. We try to remove dead toads from the road so that they are not counted twice and to make it easier for drivers to see any live toads. The counts are reported to Froglife and to the county amphibian recorder. We count the toads that we don't save so that we have total figures for the toads arriving at the crossing and so that we can compare the ratio of animals saved to lost. At some crossings the traffic is so continuous that it is difficult to remove the dead toads from the road.
Safety - Be aware of traffic at all times. Don’t risk your life to save a toad – if you shine your torch on the toad then most drivers will stop for you. Cover any cuts because of the small risk of soil borne diseases such as Tetanus. There is a remote risk of infection with Lyme disease from deer ticks, tuck long trousers into socks and check for ticks afterwards (the disease starts like flu). Be polite to car drivers; do not shine your torch in their eyes. Take a mobile phone with you and make sure that someone knows where you are and when you should be back home. Please tell the leader or another volunteer when you leave so that no one starts a search for you.
Click on the links below for details of each patrol.
