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It is a Friday night at half past seven, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

Since 1985, Britain's toad numbers have nearly been cut in half

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – often hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the first toads start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, 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 breeding season would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave their ponds over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – 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. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Family Involvement

The mother and son joined the group a while back. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for things they could do together to help native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he created, urging the municipal authority to close a road through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go past when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances 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 winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The fact that people are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is remarkable," says an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, consuming almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads around is their "historical significance," notes an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred