Senior site manager Peter Bradley gives a shout-out to the fantastic team of colleagues who volunteered to help monitor natterjacks at The Lodge this year.
With some key volunteers moving on, and the new warden Lizzie Bruce unable to start until mid-July, I was concerned about covering this year's natterjack breeding season. I sent an email to colleagues at headquarters, and was bowled over by the great response, which meant that the toads have been monitored and protected better than ever in 2015.
Natterjacks were present on the Greensand Ridge between Sandy and Gamlingay until 1900. The RSPB carried out a successful re-introduction from a Norfolk site in the 1980s. Since then, we've provided a range of artificial ponds, carefully managed to offer the best survival for this very rare amphibian. To help get the management right, the species is monitored during each breeding season. The Lodge has the longest continuous recording data of any natterjack site in the UK.
Following my request, I received over twenty offers of help from staff and UK HQ volunteers. I ran two training sessions at the end of April, when volunteers learnt the theory and then went onto site to hear natterjacks calling, and to see natterjack spawn strings. Because natterjacks are a European Protected Species, all volunteers needed to be issued documents to show they are working under license and have had sufficient training to carry out the work safely and effectively.
The volunteers are working in weekly teams to check the ponds and report their findings, so that we have a full picture of the natterjack season. So far, there have been 76 strings laid by natterjacks (the best for some years), and we have had many thousands of tadpoles in six ponds. By the end of May, small toadlets began to emerge from the main pond at the top of the old heath; many more will make the transition before the end of the summer.
It hasn't been plain sailing. Water levels have had to be monitored and topped up due to dry weather, and nutrients in the water caused thick mats of green algae to form on the main pond, making life difficult for the tadpoles and those who tried to count them.
I'm so grateful for the team of keen, reliable and dedicated volunteers. It's helped make this the best year for the toads, and we have great records this time to help us modify our management work to make the reserve even better for this fascinating and secretive animal.
The toads are pretty well covered by existing volunteers now, but there is always more to do at The Lodge. We are always in need of wildlife records, and especially for help from experienced birdwatchers, who can contribute so much to our monitoring of the wildlife and breeding birds such as the elusive hobbies.
Then there will be a chance to join work parties on the heath — I will send out requests for volunteers to join us in attacking birch, starting again in September. If you would like to help in any way, please get in touch at peter.bradley@rspb.org.uk.