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It's Friday night at 7:30, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The common toad is growing more rare. A recent research led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in the majority of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't examine the causes for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as late as spring, waiting until it gets night and moving after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the region and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this implies they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but when conditions are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Participation

The family duo joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for things they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, imploring the local council to close a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. The majority of motorists duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

Several cars go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has obviously settled down for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these organizations truly achieve? "The reality that people are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," notes an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

Another reason to work to preserve toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an expert. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred