Toad-ally worth it!

We join a group in Docking helping toads safely cross the road, doing their bit to protect toad populations from becoming extinct

When I arrive I know I've found the right place, as there's a warning sign telling me toads are crossing.

The volunteers are out with their torches and hi-vis jackets, helping these amphibians get safely to their breeding pond and back.

I'm greeted by Richard Driver, who's the lead of Docking toadwatch, and tells me it's been a busy few weeks with crossings, “We’ve done in total over 1,200 in the last 10 days.”

“Basically they are returning to the pond they were born in to mate, and because they have to cross roads to do that, some end up getting crushed," he continues.

“We just walk up and down with torches, and if we find a toad we move it in the direction that it was moving in. There’re quite a lot returning from the pond now, going back to where they came from.”

We're interrupted by one of the volunteers who tells us she's spotted a toad, so I rush over to take a look.

“Looks like a young female," Richard says, "It’s easier to tell when they’re going to the pond, because the females are a lot fatter then as they've got their eggs still.”

Melanie, who's holding it, says, “It’s a couple of hours of your day, for about a month and you can really make a difference.

"They're called a common toad, but they're not common, because of habitat loss and they're separated from their breeding site by obstacles - like a road.

“We used to see such carnage on the roads each year, and it just seemed a really simple but useful thing to do to protect them.”

Melanie helping the toad

She safely takes it to the other side of the road, saying, "Off you go, and see you next year."

Until around the end of March the team will be out for a few hours most evenings on patrol, Richards says it's their second year.

“It started because I was walking down this road in the morning with my dog - and there were just hundreds of them squashed on the road, and I thought what can we do about it?”

The group formed through Toadwatch, a volunteer-driven conservation programme in Norfolk, which warns that, 'Without this help many toad populations would become extinct'.

It helps organise patrols across the county.

Richard Driver, lead of Docking toadwatch

Richard tells me he's loved amphibians since he was a kid, "They’re nicer than people think, people think they’re these horrible warty sort of things, but they’re actually quite sweet little things.

“A lot of people when they start say, I will come along and spot them for you, but I can’t pick them up. Everyone picks them up now -  it’s not just me that likes toads, people fall in love with them!"

He ends by saying, “They do sometimes wee on you!”  Now I understand the gloves.  I shall have to bring some along next time and get involved.

What a toad-ally (couldn't resist using it again) brilliant community group doing its bit for nature.

If you'd like to join a toadwatch near you here's more info https://www.toadwatch.org/cont...

To join the one in Docking contact docking@toadwatch.org