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It's Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in the UK," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – often long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's common for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Across the UK

Seeing many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams collect toads and carry them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed 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 remains can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has posted 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 started and it's been a dry day – but several of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating 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 check under some logs.

Community Involvement

The family duo joined the group a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for things they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur explains – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A video he created, imploring the local council to block a street through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

A few cars go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the winter. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

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

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that people are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, consuming almost any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – such as building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," notes an expert. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred