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It is a Friday night at 7:30, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent study conducted by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart 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 quite well in most of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

Since 1985, Britain's toad numbers have nearly been cut in half

The Danger from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – 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 ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to find them – often hundreds of metres. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the first toads start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as late as spring, waiting until it gets night and moving after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and carry them across roads in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner explains – so when the group was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he made, urging the local council to block a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a year of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group expects to help around 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The reality that volunteers are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic 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 creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, consuming almost any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred