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It is Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A latest study led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," so 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 Danger from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as late as spring, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from where 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 "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and carry 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.

Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can miss groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Work

In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The mother and son became part of the group a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for things they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was seeking a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, urging the local council to close a street through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several cars go past when I'm out on patrol 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 daddy longlegs, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group expects to help approximately ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," 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 – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of dry weather, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Importance

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