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It's a Friday night at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with local helpers from a toad patrol. These committed people sacrifice their nights to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Decline in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decrease is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can journey farther to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the first toads start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as far as spring, waiting until it gets night and moving through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and transport them over streets in buckets, 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 means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having been spawn and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. 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 arid period – but a few of the helpers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The mother and son became part of 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 search for activities 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 team was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he created, urging the local council to block a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

A message I get from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group expects to help around ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has resulted in extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more often, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an important role in the food chain, consuming pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," adds an expert. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred