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It is Friday night at 7:30, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in most of habitats in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the drop, cars is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as late as spring, waiting until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their path crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Finding many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – 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 collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, 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 year-round – not nightly, but when conditions are damp, or if a member has posted about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a dry day – but a few of the helpers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate 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 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the group a while back. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. 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 recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, imploring the municipal authority to close a street through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on duty and we discover some victims as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive from a different helper, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group plans to assist around ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The reality that volunteers are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, eating pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing situations for toads – such as creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Historical Importance

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