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It's Friday night at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their evenings to safeguard the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A latest study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decrease is labeled "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in most of habitats in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Roads

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but some move as far as spring, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their path happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their water habitats 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 "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting 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 dry day – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the experienced member. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Participation

The family duo joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, imploring the municipal authority to close a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the council approved an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community 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 rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

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

One email I receive from a different helper, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group plans to assist approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these organizations truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Importance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred