Following our recent site visit to Cannock, we helped run a successful stall at Cannock Visitor Centre last week. We organised herpetology-related crafts for kids to engage with, as well as engaging with the public to educate them about amphibians and reptiles.

We ran two events throughout the day, one of which was a reptile walk, exploring diverse habitats to spot adders and other reptiles. Despite less-than-ideal weather conditions, we managed to observe a female adder.

Before the pond dipping activity, we discussed the amphibians we find in the UK, specifically those found in Cannock. We also caught some smooth newts for the groups to examine and practice their ID skills before conducting their own dipping.

The Make the Adder Count 2024 initiative, established in 2005, is a long-standing survey aimed at promoting springtime counts of adders. The primary objectives are to inform local conservation projects and gather a comprehensive long-term surveillance dataset.

Unfortunately, adders across the UK continue to decline due to habitat loss, degradation, and human disturbance. Alarmingly, about half of the sites surveyed as part of the Make the Adder Count project reported public disturbance negatively impacting adder populations.

This crucial project encourages experienced observers to collect data by conducting 3-6 surveys to count adult snakes basking after emerging from hibernation. The gathered information is consolidated to reveal trends in adder populations at a national level.

For further insights into Make the Adder Count, please visit: https://www.arguk.org/info-advice/survey-and-monitoring/mtac

Additionally, remember to document your sightings on Record Pool to support our efforts in establishing the distribution of herpetofauna across the UK: https://www.recordpool.org.uk/

Thank you to those who came along and said hello!

We recently held our first ever joint survey with Nottinghamshire Bat Group. The “Above and Below” event was a great success, with 21 people attending for an evening of amphibian and bat surveying. The evening began with some boot cleaning and a talk on the importance of biosecurity, followed by an introduction to the site and plans for the evening. The group was then split into two, with one group focusing on bats to begin with and then swapping over to amphibians and vice versa. Through torching and netting, the amphibian team managed to see Common Frogs, Common Toads, Smooth Newts and Great Crested Newts (as well as frog and toad tadpoles and Smooth Newt eggs) and using bat detectors and infrared cameras the bat team saw and heard Common Pipistrelles, Soprano Pipistrelles, Noctules, Daubenton’s and Brown Long Eared bats.

Many thanks to everyone who attended!

We ran our first amphibian survey of 2024 on the 20^th April. We had an amazing evening where we discussed the history and use of the site where the training was held, and the different species of amphibians found in Nottinghamshire. We also talked about how important it is to clean our boots and practice biosecurity measures to ensure amphibian safety – boots were cleaned before and after the event.

The location we chose for the training was just perfect to showcase all four of Nottinghamshire's amphibian species, including the Common toad, Common frog, Smooth newt, and Great crested newt. We were able to find three species in just 30 minutes of the survey!

As part of the event, we organised a hand netting activity, which allowed the attendees to get an up-close look at various species. We also facilitated a hands-on survey of Smooth newts and Great crested newts, while keeping a close eye on the handling process to ensure the safety of both the newts and the participants.

Overall, it was a fantastic evening, and we received a lot of positive feedback from the attendees. One lady even expressed her delight in the newts' toes!

Thank you to everyone who attended!

In the 2024 amphibian migratory season, we built on the Toad Patrol project that was first started by Notts ARG in 2023. In 2023, there were approximately 15 toad patrollers that saved 600 toads across a handful of sites in Nottinghamshire. This year we signed up to collaborate with Froglife on their “Toads on Roads” scheme and worked really hard to promote the project (with dedicated Facebook and Whatsapp groups and articles written about us by Notts Wildlife Trust, Notts BAG and the Nottingham Post). The project has gone from strength to strength, and we now have 52 registered toad patrollers that have saved amphibians from road mortality at 17 sites across Nottinghamshire.

Our results for 2024 are as follows:

We are thrilled to have saved so many amphibians from road mortality this year. Although it is devastating to also have to report on so many deceased amphibians, these figures will be useful to allow us to target our efforts in the correct areas next year.

As part of the toad patrol project, we have given training to toad patrollers (both in-person at toad crossings and as a webinar). Training has focused on amphibian ID, how to safely patrol and the importance of biosecurity in preventing the spread of amphibian diseases and non-native species. We also recently built on the success of the toad patrols with a non-members meeting, where patrollers (and other people interested in getting involved with Notts ARG) were invited for an evening of talks about the exciting work that we can do and the ways that they can get involved. Off the back of the meeting, we have had several new members sign up as Notts ARG members, and we recently took many of these new members on an amphibian training survey where they got the chance to see, ID and handle Common Frogs, Great Crested Newts and Smooth Newts (without the stress of a road!).

If you are interested in learning more about toad patrols or getting involved yourself, please contact our Toad Patrol Coordinator Kay at nottsargtoadpatrols@hotmail.com

I am sure everyone is getting tired of all this rain and feeling rather depressed by it all.

However, every cloud can have a silver lining.

Cloudy skies at this time of year tend to lead to milder nights, which with a bit of rain can lead to ideal conditions to see amphibians starting to return to ponds and other water bodies to breed.

Luckily I managed to build  2 small wildlife ponds in my garden about 4 years ago, and over time they have been populated by Smooth Newts and the odd Common Frog.

I can honestly say, it's something every avid wildlife conservationist/enthusiast should have in their garden.

On mild nights I usually go out in the garden with a good torch to see if there are any movements, and January is usually the month the Smooth Newts return to my ponds.

Tonight I have seen 5 Smooth Newts,3 male,2 female (last year my maximum count was 26 in April/May)

Other amphibians as well as newts can also be seen on mild nights in January, so keep your eyes out, and watch your steps in the dark as amphibians can travel quite a distance to return back to a breeding pond, which may mean crossing roads(Toad patrols coming soon) pavements or the garden path and lawn.

Keep those eyes peeled.

Some phone images from tonight's 'Amphibian garden watch'

Kevin .NottsARG Chair