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It is a Friday night at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Decline in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A latest study led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able 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."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – often hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but some move as late as spring, waiting until it gets night and moving through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Finding hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Family Involvement

The family duo joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for things they could do together to help native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur explains – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a road through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

Additional Species and Challenges

A few cars go by when I'm out on duty and we find some casualties as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," says an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams 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 longer periods of drought, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the food chain, consuming almost any small creatures 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 building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

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