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It is Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A latest research led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decrease is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

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

One volunteer, who was raised in the region and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their route happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – 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 resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook numbers of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, 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 gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the group a while back. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for things they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the team was seeking a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he made, imploring the municipal authority to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" restriction between evening and morning from February through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I get from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the team expects to help approximately ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, 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 drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and constructing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Importance

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