Reptile & Amphibian Forums

BBC (London, UK) 03 March 06 Signs to protect crossing toads
Motorists in east Devon are being urged to slow down for toads with new toad crossing signs.
A local wildlife campaigner alerted the highway authority that hundreds were being squashed each spring at Woodbury Salterton.
Sally Elliott has been helping toads across the road during the mating and migrating season.
The signs, which cost £42 each, have been designed by the national conservation charity Frog Life.
The charity monitors 600 official toad crossing sites around the country.
The site has been designated as an official migratory toad crossing, which means Devon County Council is authorised to put the sign up.
Ms Elliott says the signs are already making a difference.
"The three nights that I have patrolled I have noticed that cars were definitely slowing down and I like to attribute that to the signs that have gone up," she said.
Signs to protect crossing toads

WIMBLEDON GUARDIAN (UK) 06 March 06 Caution: Toads crossing (Elizabeth Edwards)
A temperature of 10°F and a few days of rain are the triggers for the annual movement of toads and other amphibians towards their spawning grounds, a journey that takes them back to the waters where they were born.
Such weather conditions are also be the signal to Mary Keyte to begin her preparation for her nightly visits to the roads around Ardington and Lockinge to help the amphibians return to their native lakes and ponds.
Mary and her team of 'toaders', both adults and children, set out with buckets in which to place the amphibians about to cross a road and carry them to safety on the other side. They also take torches to give a good light and wear reflective clothing.
Toad populations, like those of so many native species, are feared to be declining, and the number of casualties on our increasingly busy roads is considered to be one of the causes.
It is more than ten years since Mary began her mission to help those in her own part of the countryside. It began when she was working as a postwoman and saw the number of toad casualties as she drove through Ardington and Lockinge on her delivery rounds.
She left a note for Christopher Loyd, of the Lockinge Estate, saying how upset she was at the devastation she had seen and what could by done. His response was a very positive one.
Mary took advice from the organisation FROGlife on how to proceed. Warning signs were made in the estate workshops and each year, when Mary estimates the start of the spring migration is imminent, they are placed on the roads to warn motorists to take particular care to allow toads to cross in safety.
The signs are taken down when the migration is complete. It can begin as early as late February, and, according to each year's weather conditions, continue up to the end of April.
Mary and her team spend several hours on each patrol. Toads are nocturnal, so that patrols last from dusk until midnight. Although the majority of amphibians are toads, there are also frogs and newts.
Toads prefer moving water in which to spawn, while frogs are more likely to choose the still water of ponds.
Common toads have dry, rough, glandular skin, raised glands behind the eyes running obliquely to each other, relatively short legs, a rounded snout and a squat, plump shape. Their colour is usually grey, reddish or blackish brown or mottled dark brown, with an off-white underside and a grey-brown flecked, copper-red iris to the eye. They move by walking or crawling.
Common frogs, with their relatively long legs, move by jumping. They have smooth, damp skin, with two distinctive glandular folds along their back from their shoulders, a pointed snout and an angular hump on the back when sitting. Their colour is very variable, with green, grey or reddish backgrounds, dark mottling or blotches, a dark mask behind the eye, over the eardrum region and a golden iris to the eye.
The sound of toads is more easily recognisable than frogs, with high-pitched squeaking while the lower, prolonged quiet purring sound made by frogs can be heard over only a short distance. Both voices Mary loves to hear.
"One night," she recalled, "it was pouring with rain and it was absolutely wonderful. The toads were calling to one another and I stood there and laughed it was so lovely. I could hear them all chirping at the same time."
Mary and her team find it impossible to count how many toads they save each year, but they have a great regret for those they are not able to save.
"If it's raining, you don't know where to go first, they are everywhere. It's unbelievable. They come from every road. We save a large proportion, but we would like to be able to save many more."
Another hazard is drain covers. As the toads reach the edge of a road, they may find a drain cover in their path and fall between its bars, thus needing another rescue. This means lifting the cover and reaching down to free them.
The toads' spring migration takes place over several days, from the time they set off from sites where they have wintered. Their return is over a long period. The females leave first, once the spawn has been laid, while the males remain. Both male and female frogs may remain with the spawn.
In due course, the tadpoles will emerge black in colour in the case of toads, and a little lighter and speckled with gold in those of the frogs. They will, in due course, make their own way to their land quarters, but it will be three or four years before they are mature enough to join the spring migration.
Although these movements are not on such a large scale, there is still a need for motorists to be alert to adults or young crossing a road near water.
Anybody who would like to set up a patrol can seek advice from FROGlife, which can be contacted on 01733 558844.
Caution: Toads crossing