New toad barrier takes shape as migration nears

A VOLUNTEER group in Henley has started preparing for this year’s toad migration season.

Henley Toad Patrol, established in 1999, met on the side of Marlow Road, near Henley Business School, Henley, on Sunday.

Together they constructed a temporary barrier measuring about 120m.

This extends a permanent structure, which measures about 489m and runs through Oaken Grove wood and The Henley Showground field.

Each year, usually from late January to early April, amphibians need to cross the main road to get to the spawning pond, which is part of the Culden Faw estate.

But, without the barrier in place, the toad population saw “many casualties” as they would get hit by vehicles driving on the road.

Angelina Jones, of Greys Road, Henley, works as a teaching assistant at Bishopswood Special School in Sonning Common, and has been part of the Toad Patrol Group since the “early millennium”.

She said: “We are a very dedicated group and we love what we do, which is getting amphibians, including toads and frogs, safely across the road to spawn.

“I love the people who come to Henley Toad Patrol, we are a conservationist family. We might not see each other for the rest of the year but this is a very important thing that we do.

“It is a long-term project, this is something that we will probably have to do basically, forever, because the toads can’t get across the road otherwise.”

The group build and maintain the barrier each year in preparation for the migration and remove it again once its over.

Ms Jones added: “What a way to spend a rainy Sunday morning.

“We have no idea when this year’s migration will start but it needs to be wet for the toad. We’ve had a lot of rain recently and the temperature needs to be mild.

“I’m expecting that we will see them in the foreseeable future, maybe even this week. We’re putting the barrier up now so that we’re ready.” The toads arrive at the barrier and the volunteers will pick them up and collect them in large buckets and carry them across the road so that they can access the pond.

Ms Jones told of how she has always been a wildlife “lover” and used to work for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in the West Midlands.

She said: “Anything that I can do to help wildlife generally, but this is very important to me because this is for my local wildlife, it’s on my doorstep, and it does make a huge difference.”

Between February and April last year the group carried 8,758 toads, 960 frogs and 229 smooth newts

Ms Jones said: “It means a lot to us and I’m sure that the amphibians appreciate it in their own special way.

“But, as the Toad Patrol, it’s all of the wildlife here that we include in our work. It’s the hares in the field, the Egyptian geese and the occasional hedgehog.”

Cathy Holwill, who lives in Reading, works in ecology for Reading Borough Council and has been a volunteer with the group for about 10 years.

She found out about Toad Patrol while working for The Conservation Volunteers charity (TCV) and Ms Jones had sent in an email about the group.

Ms Holwill said: “I saw Angelina’s email, and I thought I would turn up. That’s how my involvement started, and now, February and March each year, ruined!”

She said: “Doing this, it’s addictive — you just don’t want to see them squashed on the road.

“I come out to Henley most days during Toad Patrol season, because it’s a nice community to be part of.

“There’s a lovely group of people who do it, all different sorts of people, and it’s very rewarding when you cross the road with the toads. They do move very fast.”

Ms Holwill said that there are also many different wildlife species that the group have spotted each year while out in the field, including tawny owls and even a wallaby.

She added: “I love it, it’s a decent thing to do, and there’s a lot of volunteers that have signed up. It’s nice seeing everybody, and I’m hoping that it will be a successful season. It’s officially started now.”