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It's Friday night at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals 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 led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in most of areas in Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "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 study didn't examine the reasons for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which might be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but some move as late as April, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Work

In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever conditions are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. 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.

Community Participation

The family duo joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously 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 reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

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

One email I get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," notes an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, 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 blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the food chain, consuming pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Historical Importance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred