Council Ranger warns - toads on the roads!

Andy Summers, Highland Council Senior Countryside Ranger for Caithness and Sutherland has been helping the Assynt Field Club put out warning signs for motorists near Lochinver to take care that toads may be crossing the road.

The migrating toad crossing ahead warning road signs are located on the B869 Lochinver - Stoer road in Sutherland.

Andy Summers explains:

“Every year across the country hundreds of large female toads laden with eggs are making their way to their breeding lochans. Sometimes their journey from their winter hibernation spot to their breeding spot takes them across a busy road.

“From mid-March, for the next three weeks, especially on wet and warm evenings motorists are being asked to take care and not run over these amazing creatures.

“Toads will not breed in any old loch but carefully choose the right one with the right amount of algae of the right species. They will return to this same loch year-after-year. The sound of toads in a breeding lochan can be very loud and is a wonderful sign of spring.”

The Ranger Service is carrying on work first started around 20 years ago by local environmentalists John and Erica Gorman in looking after this important breeding toad loch.