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It is Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A latest research conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is labeled "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in most of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to 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 longer than frogs means they can travel further to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as late as April, until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their route happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Finding many of dead toads on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are damp, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Family Involvement

The mother and son became part of the group a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he created, urging the municipal authority to close a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts 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 better success anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's very difficult at this season.

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

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group plans to assist approximately 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since vehicles is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant longer periods of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic 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 – particularly the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, consuming almost any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," notes an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred