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It is Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to safeguard the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A latest study conducted by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – often 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.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as late as spring, waiting until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, 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 crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping 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 led to the formation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams collect toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook numbers of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, exit their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be counted.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Family Involvement

The mother and son became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he made, urging the municipal authority to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I contact clarify 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 look for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Limitations

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

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – 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 almost any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Cultural Importance

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