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It's Friday evening 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 the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decrease is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – often long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

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

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The family duo became part of the patrol a while back. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was seeking a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he created, urging the local council to close a street through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from February through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on duty and we find some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me 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 clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group expects to help around ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Impact and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "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 slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, eating almost any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Cultural Importance

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