RAMPS
When fitting mesh in the drains, ramps were shaped to provide a means of exit for the amphibians. However, by not leaving any mesh protruding above the drain covers it was difficult to ensure that a complete escape route had been created. The ramps were formed in an attempt to assist adults in escaping from the drains and were not intended to be effective in juvenile rescue. Even if adult toads and frogs managed to escape from the drains, there was still the high kerb of the road and the remaining drains to contend with.

GUIDE FENCING 20 metres (TBC) of 300mm high clear plastic was erected on the west side of the pond with 6 plant pots buried into the ground as pitfall traps. The pots were covered with wire mesh to prevent magpies feasting on the toadlets and froglets. It is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of this fencing, but the westerly migration route was concentrated in a narrow area of  the car park road level with the end of the fence, this made collection of froglets and toadlets easier. The pitfall traps proved to be ineffective as the metamorphs had no trouble climbing up the sides of the plant pots. Some toadlets even managed to climb the guide fence; when at the top, they were seen to hop defiantly to the ground on the other side.

KERB HUMPS
At the peak of juvenile migration, attempts to collect juveniles from the grass verges were slow and difficult, the presence of volunteers merely forced the population to hop back towards the pond. As a trial, heaps of bark chippings were placed at approximately 10 metre intervals and adjacent to the drains along all migration routes. These heaps of bark proved to be invaluable in allowing juveniles to make their own way up the kerb and into the fields. With courtesy shewn by many drivers on the road to the car park it was possible to send waves of amphibians across the road without their being run over. The kerb humps continued to serve their purpose well after the volunteers had departed. There was one small problem that hadn't been considered when using the bark. After rain, the bark was washed into the drains and had to be netted out.

LADDERS
Towards the end of the juvenile lift it was decided to form some of the 10mm galvanised wire mesh into tubular shapes, providing a means of exit for amphibians trapped in two of the drains. Some juveniles did climb part way up the ladders, but none were actually seen to have completed the journey. Without the necessary kerb humps to allow the juveniles to complete the escape, this measure was not favoured by the volunteers. There were greater numbers of juveniles occupying the ledges in the drains, which does indicate that the ladders would work. However, it appeared that some amphibians were preferring to occupy the rafts and wait to be rescued, rather than make their own way to the road surface. There was some discussion about removing  rafts from the drains with ladders but no experimentation followed.

DRAIN COVERS
Whilst drain covers were not used on the new road their effectiveness has been proven (Ref previous report?). The situation with juveniles is slightly different though. With drain covers fitted the only means of entry and exit can be via the side pipes. It is likely that a number of juveniles had travelled along the connecting pipes from outflows and inflows at the balancing pond and new road only to end up in drains. This would necessitate removing the covers to retrieve the amphibians.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
When the new road drains were fitted, in many cases the polythene membrane across the inner ledge of each drain had not been removed completely. Instead, a small opening was made to allow water to fall through. Unfortunately, this allowed many adult amphibians to fall through into the drains and remain there undetected for quite some time. Only at the end of the main toad lift were these drains inspected. No amphibians were expected to be found in these drains. On the first evening of inspection one of us spent 3 hours netting luckless adults from the first 6 drains on the new road. The drains had virtually no water in them and the amphibians had to be rescued from the bottom of these very deep pitfall traps. The following evening the road was tarmac surfaced, the drains were sticky and many of the rescued amphibians had to be washed before being released; volunteers also had to be washed! Twenty five adults were netted from just one of the drains that evening; fortunately, there were very few casualties.

Rain had also washed adults onto the unbroken  polythene of one drain. Mud and silt had washed into the drain and the resultant sticky mud claimed the lives of 5 amphibians. A further 9 were rescued alive. After this, it was decided to remove the polythene membrane from all remaining drains, fit mesh and put in rafts.

Another complication with the adults in the new road drains was the low water level. The side pipes did provide a means of escape into the maze of tunnels, but the water level was so low that this means of exit could not be reached. Many adults were also seen to dive to the bottom of the new drains making it necessary to 'net blind' in the hope of finding the occupants.

The drains 6E and 7E, closest to the main outlet did contain a higher number of adults. This may be because the adults were swimming up the side pipes from the outlet.