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It is Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A latest research led by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in most of habitats in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability 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 follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, leave their ponds 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 run over "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever conditions are damp, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Involvement

The family duo joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a new manager recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he made, imploring the local council to block a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the council approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

A few cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

One email I get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad group 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 mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because vehicles is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The climate crisis has resulted in longer periods of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, eating almost any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing situations for toads – such as creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

An additional motive to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred