When we are out at sunset in February and March, we often see a strange sight - a group of toads waiting by the side of the road. They are choosing the right moment to take the perilous crossing to reach their ponds.

During this time, toads usually begin migrating back to their ancestral ponds. Male toads like piggybacks – a female toad will carry her mate all the way back home, scientifically known as ‘amplexus’. This journey is a fundamental part of a toad’s life cycle but is under threat due to human interference and climate change.

Life cycle of a toad

At this time of year, toads emerge from gardens and woodlands to make the treacherous journey to their ancestral ponds. This is the pond where they hatched, just like their parents, grandparents and so on.

Ellen Winter, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT)’s Citizen Science and Evidence officer says:

“Once there, males serenade potential mates with their unique calls. They sound like distant seagulls... it’s quite quiet, but eerily accurate”

Females select the ideal male based on his call and lay spawn in the pond, leaving it to develop. It looks a bit like frogspawn, except it forms in strings.

Twelve days later, tadpoles start to hatch. Like their parents, they have toxins in their skin, protecting them from fish and other predators. However, they’re not entirely invincible - otters are known to eat toads, discarding the toxic parts before eating.

After three months, tadpoles mature and embark upon adulthood, which should last up to twelve years.

Toads are creatures of woodlands and hedgerows, where they can hide in the daytime, sleeping for up to 12-15 hours a day. They emerge at dusk and spend the night eating. With an impressive work-life balance, toads manage to do most of their hunting while sitting in the same spot. Staying very still, they catch passers-by unawares: from insects to slugs and snails, and sometimes even small mice.

When the cold of winter returns, they take shelter under logs, mud or compost heaps to conserve energy and enter a hibernation-like state.

A toad never forgets

Toads also have an incredible capacity for memory. They will never forget the pond they came from and like their parents, return there every year – walking up to a mile. But how do toads – and their amphibian neighbours - remember the long way back home?

Academic research has found that the common toad is guided by smells along the route back, as well as the unique odour of the pond itself. They also follow key features of the landscape, such as trees, to orient themselves.

Today’s challenges

Over the past few decades, this cycle has been disrupted by human interference. In an urbanised country such as the UK, toads face many obstacles on their journey.

Busy roads are a major killer. Around a quarter of a million toads are killed on UK roads every year. This is a challenge that has increased massively over the past 50 years with the expansion of motorways.

Human development is also leading to habitat loss for toads, as ponds are filled up for aesthetic, agricultural reasons or to make space for urban expansion. Many toads return to their ancestral pond to find it no longer exists. Ponds are being lost at an alarming rate: 50% of UK ponds were lost in 20th century.

Climate change is having its impact, as weather in February becomes drier and warmer on average. Amphibians like conditions to be just so and will only be tempted to move when the weather is damp and temperatures are above 6 degrees at dusk. In 2025, their ‘Big Night’ - the night when the largest number of toads are seen migrating across the county – was 21 March, whereas previous records show on average mass migration happens in mid-February. 

Water contamination also makes ponds uninhabitable. Heavy rain and flooding pushes pollutants from nearby rivers into toad ponds, that were previously separate from these water courses.

Gloucestershire’s toad stronghold

These threats are causing a major decline in UK toad populations: they have reduced by 41 per cent over the past 40 years, according to the charity Froglife.

Despite this, Gloucestershire is a busy county for the toads. Every year, volunteers for the Gloucestershire Toads on Roads (GlosToR) initiative help toads and other amphibians cross the road safely. This is part of an international campaign to save migrating toads and record toad populations. GWT supports the GlosToR network and contributes results from Gloucestershire Centre for Environmental Records (GCER).

Cat Marfell, Water Guardians Project Officer at GWT and Gloucestershire Toads on Roads volunteer says:

“We have 50 plus known toad crossings in Gloucestershire. This is a stretch of road which is a barrier between the amphibian’s overwinter habitat and their breeding pond.

This is more than any other county in the UK, thanks not only to our toads but to the community of dedicated volunteers who record them.”

Last year, a road in the Forest of Dean recorded the highest number of toads for Gloucestershire, with 4,347 attempting to cross over 26 nights. The majority survived, thanks to the work of Toads on Roads volunteers.

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s mission

At GWT, we are aiming to restore habitats across Gloucestershire and engage more people to take action for nature.

This involves restoring wetlands, ponds and improving freshwater quality, so that not only toads but all the species who depend on these habitats can thrive. For example, our project to restore the Stroudwater canal in partnership with Stroud District Council will create a mosaic of wetland and river-edge habitats. This will be beneficial for toads who move between water and land throughout the year.

To see amphibians in action, we recommend you visit our ponds at Robinswood Hill, Woorgreens or Roundhouse Lake.

What you can do to help

Use these simple tricks to make your own garden or community green space amphibian-friendly:

• Help toads overwinter in your garden by building shelters. For example, make a small pile of logs or stones, start a compost heap or turn some empty plant pots upside down.
• Stop using pesticides and weed killer in your garden. They kill toads too! A toad is a great natural alternative - known as a ‘gardener’s best friend’ they love eating slugs, snails and creepy-crawlies.
• Create your own pond or micro-pond. This can be as simple as leaving out an old bin or bucket to fill up with rainwater. Though toads are notoriously picky, you may find frogs and other amphibians making a home there within a few weeks. Be sure to follow guidance of how to make your pond safe for nature e.g. ensuring there is a shallow end to allow escape for wildlife that has fallen in.

These small actions can help your local amphibians survive in a world of declining ponds.