OPEN MEETING Tuesday 17th June at 7.30pm

come and join us at St Stephen Parish Centre, AL2 3PJ. FREE event – all welcome

Amorous Amphibians.  Behavioural Ecology and the Flamstead Toad Patrol Report.

Guest speaker: Dr Julie Battersby, Newt, Frog and Toad Expert.

It will be a delight to learn more about some of the Ver’s most secretive inhabitants from a local expert with plenty of inside information.  Dr Julie Battersby not only studied the behaviour of Smooth and Palmate Newts at the Open University but is now a member of both the Beds and Herts Amphibian & Reptile Groups and a Toad Patrol Coordinator.

Julie’s talk covers the behavioural ecology of the amphibians, especially those that breed in the River Ver at Flamstead.  What’s more, fresh from a taxing couple of months on the lookout for toads, she’ll be revealing details of their unstoppable migration in the breeding season and why we don’t have Frog Patrols!

There will be a short report on the current state of the river, notable wildlife, the latest Ver Valley news and plenty of time for any questions from the floor.