Natterjack Toads
On Friday April 23rd The National Trust held a Natterjack Toad evening on their reserve at Sandscale Haws, I have to say that I was more than impressed by the quality of the evening and Neil, who is one of the wardens on the reserve, was brilliant.

The evening was well attended by members of the public and we started by looking into one of the small breading ponds, we were given a very good informative talk about the reserve and the toads. Not only did we learn about the very important work that goes on at this reserve, we also learned about the management of the site, some of the history of the dunes and how the dunes were formed.

To cap off a great evening we were all treat to what was an absolutely fantastic experience, we stood near one of the large ponds in the dunes and from here we stood in silence as the male Toads filled the night air with their calls, a sound I will never forget.

It was great to see a long string of torches making their way back along the path, through the dunes and back to the car-park like a long snake of lights. So many happy adults and children, all very content at what they had just experienced.

The most satisfying thing to me though, was knowing that I had made a contribution by helping with some of the work on this reserve over the winter months, by cutting down some Willow trees and helping to create a better habitat for the Toads

Many thanks to Neil and the team on the reserve, for the valuable work that you do. I am looking forward to the next event and to helping again next winter.

Get involved folks, it’s worth it!