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It is Friday night at 7:30, 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 sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is labeled "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live successfully in most of habitats in the UK," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for longer than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

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

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

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 formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, exit 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 hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they admit it is "not a toady night" – 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 route with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Involvement

The mother and son became part of the patrol a while back. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for things they could do together to protect 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 new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he made, urging the local council to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the council approved an "access-only" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from a different helper, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team plans to assist around 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has meant extended spells of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

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 food chain, consuming almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Importance

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