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It is a Friday night at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Decline in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A latest study led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Observing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Threat from Roads

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can journey farther to reach them – often hundreds of metres. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but some move as late as spring, until it gets night and moving through the night. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their route crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the UK

Finding many of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, exit their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but when conditions are damp, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the helpers willingly accept to walk up and down their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled 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 loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, 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 middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was seeking a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, urging the local council to close a street through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from February through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly settled down for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

A message I get from a different helper, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist approximately ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that people are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," notes an researcher. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more often, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, eating almost any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Importance

Another reason to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred