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It is a Friday night at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A latest research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is labeled "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live quite well in most of habitats in Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads annually – that is, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They tend to stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as far as spring, waiting until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this implies they can overlook numbers of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be counted.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a dry day – 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 spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to 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 Involvement

The family duo became part of the group a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner 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 organization. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to close a street through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between evening and morning 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 duty and we discover some victims as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the group'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 more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

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

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team plans to assist approximately ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," notes an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the food chain, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or small animals 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, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," notes an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred