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Toad Watch Campaign 2008

8^th February 2008

Once a common sight across the length and breadth of Jersey, the common toad (Bufo bufo) is now in fear of being renamed the uncommon toad. The Toad Watch working group are now pleased to announce the launch of the island-wide campaign for 2008.

States of Jersey Environment Department, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Amphibian & Reptile Group (JARG) have been working locally for many years trying to halt the decline in amphibians. However, a study by Dr John Wilkinson on ‘The Ecology and Conservation of the Common Toad on Jersey’ led to the setting up of the Toad Watch campaign, where members of the public could help monitor the local population.

Islanders’ records over the last three years have helped build a picture of where the crapauds are breeding. It is essential to keep adding any new information to these records, so that information about the location of toadspawn and tadpoles in garden ponds can be used to build up a much clearer map of local activity. 

“Ongoing monitoring is extremely important.” said Dr John Wilkinson, who last year completed the intensive three-year study of the crapaud, which was funded and supported by the Jersey Ecology Fund, Environment Department, Durrell and University of Kent. 

Dr Wilkinson added: “Research over the last few years has built up an understanding of how critical the refuge of a garden pond is in the island. Toad populations are fragmented and efforts to create small corridors between breeding groups will help the toads travel and keep the gene pool healthy. By improving the toad-friendliness of gardens, and monitoring activity in them, the public can make a real difference and turn the fortunes of the Jersey crapaud around. 

Making gardens toad friendly is easy, fun and the key to helping stabilise our local population. While helping the toads, the installation of garden ponds will also increase the number of other native species of wildlife. Leaving areas of your garden to return to the wild or planted with native plants will also help toads to travel more safely between ponds.”

Over the course of the next few weeks, the public are being asked to send in records of toadspawn in their ponds. Any information about ponds that used to be used as spawning sites, but have now become dormant, is also incredibly useful.

The results will be added to the data collected in Dr John Wilkinson’s three year study and will contribute positively to the States of Jersey, Toad Biodiversity Action plan. 

In addition to this, Durrell is collaborating closely with the States of Jersey Environment Division to help safeguard some of the Island’s other rare species, such as the agile frog (FrAgile the agile frog campaign), declining bird species such as the cirl bunting and various plant propagation projects.

If you live in Jersey and would like to find out more information about how you can help the common toad, please click here. If you have any observations that you would like to record, please download this form, email them to toadwatch@durrell.org or call +44 (0)1534 860053 and leave a detailed message.

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Karla Sauvage replied on Tuesday 28 February 2012
	Hi. I have just looked into my smallish garden pond and counted 18 noisy and busy toads However in the past five years i have noticed a loss of tadpoles. Unfortunately the fish population within my pond has gone crazy. I am working on this and am trying to find homes for the fish. Last year i made a holding pond(very small0 within the garden and moved the spawn into this. the tadpoles hatched but then the resident newts had a feast. Not one tadpole survived.I am hoping this year to succeed by way of covering the holding pond with a fine mesh. Any suggestions would be welcome.
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