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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 taken a train to a town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is growing more rare. A latest study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is labeled "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in most of areas in the UK," so 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 Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the decline, cars is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads annually – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – often hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but some move as far as spring, waiting until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that period, 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 working to save its toad population since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if someone 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 arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to walk up and down their route 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. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the group a while back. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he created, urging the municipal authority to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group plans to assist approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant 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 led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more often, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "important cultural value," notes an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred