Natterjacks return to Hodbarrow after a decade of no sightings

You may have read or heard this in the media recently but we have exciting news at Hodbarrow. Natterjack toads have returned to the reserve!

The natterjack toad once bred on the reserve as part of its Cumbrian stronghold but in recent years we had not found any in the area. As I reported back in May of this year natterjack
tadpoles were discovered in a pool on the island within the lagoon.  Adult natterjacks and more tadpoles have since been observed during close monitoring of the pools throughout the summer. 

Natterjack toads are only found at about 60 sites in Britain where they prefer shallow ponds with warm water such as those at Hodbarrow. Due to a loss in habitat over the last century numbers have declined dramatically. In order to provide a helping hand, suitable ponds and habitat have been created at Hodbarrow. 

This is a really amazing discovery. The islands themselves are quite exposed and we didn’t expect to see anything over there. Finding tadpoles and adults is brilliant.

I asked Bill Shaw, the Cumbria Officer for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation to comment “This is great news as we thought we had lost natterjacks from Hodbarrow.  It gives us the impetus to carry on our habitat improvement work on the reserve to encourage them to move out from the island.”

We will work hard to continue to make the habitat at Hodbarrow suitable for natterjacks and fingers crossed that they will continue to breed here for many more years to come.

 Natterjack toads (P. Short)

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