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It is Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent study led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decrease is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of areas in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their route crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Finding many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and carry them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but several of the helpers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The mother and son joined the group a while back. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for things they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the group was looking for a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A video he made, imploring the municipal authority to block a road through a protected area during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population 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 ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The reality that volunteers are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is remarkable," notes an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since vehicles is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant longer periods of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance 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 play an important role in the food chain, consuming almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

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