Helping amphibians to survive

As at 25/03 most of the patrols have finished patrolling, please see the summary below.  If you look at the historic records, please bear in mind that some patrols that have large numbers (eg Cranwich and Cockley Cley) are no longer sending numbers to Toadwatch - other smaller patrols have started elsewhere, so the overall number of patrols looks similar. 

Many patrols were able to recruit new patrollers as a result of publicity efforts by all patrols throughout the previous year. Anglia News visited Carleton Forehoe and the clip was widely seen,

The main feature of this year was the mild and wet weather in early Feb that many toads took advantage of but lots waited till March, resulting in a long season that put strain on the patrollers!  Frog numbers were low at many of the patrols - the frogs did not join in the rush in early Feb.

 Patrol Last toad seen Trend is up Trend is down Notes
Ashwellthorpe       Toads pretty much dissapeared some years ago when the area around the pond was developed
Carleton Forehoe 20/02 yes   Patrol only started part way through the 2023 migration, more than twice as many toads seen in 2024 
Costessey 18/03 slight   Slightly up on 2023. Open trenches for gas mains works made conditions very difficult for toads and humans. Traffic continues to increase.
Edgefield 16/03     About average
Elsing 20/03     Above average at Bartles Pond, below at Mill St.  One sign stolen
Great Melton     sharp Numbers crashed in 2021 and have continued to decline - no obvious reason
Hempsted 19/03   sharp Numbers have been in sharp decline since 2021 and mirror the decline at nearby Selbrigg, no apparent cause
Little Barningham 20/03   slight Below recent average
Little Melton       Toads have largely relocated to a better nearby lake that is well away from the road
Massingham 26/3 Hall Farm Great Great Massingham numbers are well down from 2014, Little Massingham numbers are increasing but this may partly be because some very vigilant patrollers have joined in recent years so more toads are being observed!
Salthouse 20/03 yes   Well above previous 2 years but this is a new patrol so increased numbers may be the result of additional patrollers seeing more toads
Selbrigg 21/03   sharp Slightly down on 2023, a long way down from historic highs - no reason for decline is apparent
Stibbard 13/03  ? ? Very poor year but big fluctuations in past
Thwaite 18/03 since 2010    Huge numbers of newts seen again
West Runton ?     Not sure if stopped?
Wicklewood 21/03 since 2019    
Wymondham - Centre Paws 20/03 yes   Patrol only started part way through the 2023 migration, nearly twice as many toads seen in 2024 
Wymondham - Wramplingham Rd 21/03   yes 2024 was up on 2023 but below all other previous years