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It is Friday night at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub 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 Decline in Population

The common toad is growing more rare. A latest study conducted by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a creature that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decrease is labeled "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity to stay out of water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but some move as far as spring, waiting until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a boy, explains 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 never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams collect toads and carry them across roads in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when conditions are damp, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The family duo joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for things they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur explains – so when the group was seeking a fresh coordinator lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A clip he made, imploring the local council to block a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group plans to assist approximately ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," notes an researcher. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Cultural Significance

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