Female common Frog showing off her Polymorphism

The South West of the UK is the epicentre of amphibian migration in England. Gloucestershire has a HUGE number of migration sites.

Unfortunately most of these sites cross roads, causing many casualties to amphibians.*

So nature nerds like myself and the "Frampton Toadies" go out on mild wet evenings to help the little hoppers and crawlers off the roads to safety.

You have probably all seen the "Toad" signs?

You can expect to see toads, frogs, Palmate newts, Smooth newts and the much larger and protected Great Crested newt.

By the way, you must have a licence to handle GCN or face unlimited fines and/or jail time!**

I myself do pond surveys and ID the life in the ponds I work on or build.

Always remember they are cold blooded so when you handle them, our warm hands are like a hot iron!

Interesting "Frog Fact"! 

Did you know common female British frogs have a secret trick under their skin??

They are "Polymorphic" and can make one pigment prominent in their skin. On rare occasions they turn Pink or Red!!

Luckily for you I found an incredibly Red lady recently!!!

*To find out more about toad migration see here.

**To find out more about the Great Crested Newt and the laws around protecting it see here.

On a recent walk with my best friend, we were lucky enough to have an aerial display from a VERY confident Barn Owl.

It was only my best friend's second ever sighting of a Barn Owl.

Six or more fly overs and what seemed like hours following us.

She (just a feeling) ended the display with a low swoop no more than 6ft above our heads.

The entire time her gaze was locked on my friend.

Hence her name "Emery".

Emery can be seen regularly in the fields between Whitminster Church and "Swingers Corner".

She favours the marshy areas, easily seen by the Marsh Grass aka "Sturdy Chives" (its an inside joke).

Although when the water table is too high, she will hunt further afield - literally. Overcast days from 2pm onwards seem to be her favourite. She really isn't bothered by people or dogs.

Note:

Whitminster is on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, just to the north of Saul Junction.

Moorings at Saul Junction are for two days, or just north of Junction Bridge for two weeks.

There are plenty of good walks in the vicinity.

If you want to know more about barn owls, check out this RSPB link