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It is Friday night at half past seven, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more uncommon. A recent study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of areas 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 Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as far as April, until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that time, toads start moving from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Finding many of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "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

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. After for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, 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 patrol a while back. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for things they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the group was looking for a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he created, urging the local council to block a street through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on duty and we discover some victims as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team expects to help around 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has meant longer periods of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the food chain, eating pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

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