August
6th
2000:
Tales from a deep drain.
As
residents will know, BT have been laying more pipes along
the new road and damaging the wildlife fencing.
We
have also noticed that the water level in one drain adjacent
to the toad tunnel on the pond side of the road has drastically
lowered.
On
Sunday 6th August during one of our regular checks for
metamorphs we found 13 adult frogs, 2 newts and 21 metamorphs
in this drain (1W ).
It is very unusual to find so many live adults in one
drain at this time of year. The previous Sunday a total
of 61 amphibians were collected from the 52 Saxon Gate
site drains.
We
have long suspected that adult frogs toads and newts live
in the interconnecting drain pipes. When the water is
at its normal level they can get back into these pipes
without too much trouble, but in this case they could
not as the water level was far too low. Frogs can clearly
survive for quite a while in water but toads cannot. Most
adult toads found in drains at this time of year are dead.
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June 7th 2000:
ACO help at
Saxon Gate!
On
Wednesday June 7th representatatives from ACO the Toad Tunnel
Manufacturers of Shefford met with SGTL and IVCP at Saxon
Gate to up the stakes for conservation.
After
giving ACO's a tour of Saxon Gate volunteers were absolutely
amazed and delighted when ACO's offered to supply a further
250 meters of PERMANENT guide fencing for the site at below
cost price. This fencing will enable practically all of
the at risk areas to be protected. IVCP agreed to provide
funds for purchase of the guide fencing.
ACO's also expressed an interest in assisting with putting
up information sign boards and taking publicity photographs.
What else can we say but thankyou!
Visit
ACO's
web site for more information on Toad Tunnels and wildlife
fencing.
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Jan
17th 2000: Conamar Building Services come
to our aid.
After
hearing of the difficulties encountered last
year with gulley pot drains, Dave Fenwick
of Conamar Building Services kindly donated
three boxes of industry standard carpet tiles
to our cause. These tiles will be used to cover
the drains adjacent to the Balancing Pond. We
have sufficient tiles to protect the entire
length of the new road!
Someone
in our group did question whether the frogs
and toads would like the marbled pattern on
the tiles, but since the amphibians will probably
be moving after dusk this was not considered
to be a real problem. :-)
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May
16th 2000: Bedfordshire has a RAG!
On
16th May Bedfordshires' first Reptile and Amphibian and
Group (ARG) was formed.
Known
as 'BRAG' the group brings together the best of Bedfordshires
amphibian and reptile groups to form one central consultancy.
BRAG will act as one voice for Bedfordshire, providing advice,
guidance, and assistance in the field of amphibian and reptile
matters.
Legislation,
planning and legal aspects of conservation will be included
in the remit. New members will be welcome. Visit the new
BRAG web site
for more information.
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Jan
18th
2000:
Volunteers needed for Guide Fence installation.
Guide
fencing prevents amphibians from getting on the roads and
makes the work of rescuers much easier during the busy migration.
When the toad tunnel was laid last year, contractors did
not build in sufficient guide fencing. We need volunteers
who can spare a few hours for one day, to put up a temporary
fence. If you can help please Contact Joel
Carré Tel: 01767 601042 for further details.
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May
5th 2000: Toad Lift 2000, The impact of development.
The
figures for this years' (2000) adult migration have now
been processed. Although numbers at first sight appear to
be unchanged from last year, the pattern of migration has
changed drastically. View the graph.
The
toad tunnel and temporary fencing were put to good use during
the migration. However, migration from the west to the pond
was virtually non-existant; this being due to the housing
development and habitat destruction by archaeologists.
Most
amphibians were rescued from the new road and roundabout
and from these areas numbers have increased. Many have still
fallen into road drains with rescuers spending many evenings
retreiving amphibians from over 30 drains.
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