The "Squashed Toads" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Heading past the pond on our way to the barn, and then it's only a few blocks and we'll be home.  For years Carol and I walked for exercise around the neighborhood, but our favorite destination was Overlook Park which is a short distance from our front door.  

Stretch of road in the park where the toads are squashed.

Great walking path with plenty of wildlife, wild flowers and trees to admire on our journey.  But, as we walked through the park we had to cross an area of paved road where in the spring of the year we would find many squashed toads on the pavement.  The location was directly next to a large pond where the trilling noises from the toads were at times deafening.  

This is the large pond where the migrating American
toads call home.  They cross the road to find other to
mate with and lay their eggs.

Come dark, especially on rainy spring evenings, the migrating amphibians begin looking for mates and a place to lay eggs.  As they cross back and forth between the small nearby stream and the pond, they are candidates for road kill.  And many end up that way.  

Small stream-bed can be seen.  This is the destination of the toads. 

Shovels-full are killed each year during the spring.  So, a few years ago the Lancaster Herpeto- logical Society got involved and when it's time for the migration they get online and request the help of volunteers to show up at the park and usher the American toads across the stretch famous for the devastation.   This year about 100 volunteers showed up and it was reported that 0 toads were squashed to date. The volunteers will have to return for a few more evenings until the migration has ended.   I'll tell you, it makes it so much easier to walk that stretch without having to side-step all the dead toads.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an oridnary guy.