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It is a 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 meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed 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 "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in most of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

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

The Danger from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to stay out of water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's common for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

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

A local helper, who grew up in the region and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult 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 year of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever conditions are damp, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Community Involvement

The family duo joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the group was looking for a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, imploring the local council to close a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council agreed to an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the group's best efforts 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 nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

The group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to look for toads in a noted location, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that people are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," says an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has meant longer periods of dry weather, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or small animals 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 – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Importance

An additional motive to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred