IT’S A SUNDAY AFTERNOON in March. Yet again, I’m opening and checking my weather app. As a regular volunteer for the Charlcombe Lane Toad Patrol in Bath, this is something I do frequently at this time of year.
Late February to March is when the UK’s adult amphibians emerge from their overwintering sites and embark on often long and perilous journeys to their natal breeding grounds, where they’ll seek a mate. But they tend to be extremely picky about conditions for travel. They prefer mild, damp evenings, just as dusk is turning to night, with temperatures hovering around 8-10˚C. If the weather has been cold and dry, they’ll patiently wait it out – which means anyone out on toad patrol is in for a quiet night.
As the days pass, the mercury starts to rise and rainclouds begin to gather. Anticipation starts to build of a mass movement involving hundreds of amphibians. Today, this anticipation is palpable among my fellow patrollers, also keeping a close eye on the weather forecast,
