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Showing posts with the label Toads

Appeal to watch for toads in Carmarthenshire

People are asked to watch out for toads crossing roads in Carmarthenshire. Between now and March, the amphibians make their way to traditional sites to mate and produce the well known strings of toad spawn seen in ponds. Common toads are very particular about where they breed and often migrate back to their ancestral breeding ponds each year. They follow the same route, regardless of what gets in their way, which sometimes leads to them crossing roads, risking being killed in traffic. Two toad crossings have already been identified in Carmarthenshire – at Burry Port and Pantyffynnon – where the county council has put up signs warning motorists to watch out. And dedicated volunteers are often on hand with buckets to help the toads cross these hazardous barriers, picking up hundreds of the amphibians and ensuring they go safely on their way to their breeding ponds. People are now being asked to look out for any other areas where large numbers of migrating toads can be seen crossing roads...

Carmarthenshire signs boost for toads!

New road signs are being spawned in Burry Port and Ammanford. Carmarthenshire County Council is putting up toad crossing warning signs at Burry Port and Pantyffynnon. These have been mainly funded by the council with a grant contribution from the Countryside Council for Wales to provide biodiversity projects. The sites have been registered with Froglife as part of their Toads on the Roads scheme where significant migration sites are recorded and with the signs erected to warn motorists during the toad migration season. Currently both sites have volunteers who collect the toads in buckets to help them across the busy roads which bisect toad migration routes to breeding ponds. The toad crossings will feature on Google Earth in a bid to cut the numbers of amphibians being croaked by motorists. Toad numbers have declined in many parts of UK and road kill is thought to be the principal cause coupled with the loss of ponds. Froglife, which helps the conservation of amphibians and reptiles, h...