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

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A recent study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers 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 specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," so 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 Roads

Though the study didn't examine the reasons for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tons 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 small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets night and moving after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres 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 mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Community Involvement

The mother and son became part of the group a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together to help native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was seeking a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he made, urging the local council to close a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I reach out to 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 kindly taken the trouble to look 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 late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," notes an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "important cultural value," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred