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It is a Friday evening at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more rare. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is labeled "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as far as April, until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their route happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Finding many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and transport them across roads in containers, 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 tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever 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 admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy 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 see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community 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 environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was seeking a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A video he created, urging the local council to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

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

A message 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: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," says an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the food chain, eating almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred