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It is Friday night at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent study led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in most of areas in Britain," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

Since 1985, Britain's toad numbers have nearly been cut in half

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – that is, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the region and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the United Kingdom

Seeing many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and carry them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Work

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are damp, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Participation

The mother and son became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner explains – so when the team was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he created, imploring the local council to block a road through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

The group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant longer periods of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Cultural Importance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," notes an specialist. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred