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It is Friday night at half past seven, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their nights to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A latest research led by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of habitats in Britain," 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 Danger from Roads

Though the study didn't examine the reasons for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They usually follow their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as far as spring, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the region and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups 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 road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can miss groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

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 ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for things they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur explains – so when the team was seeking a new manager recently, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he created, imploring the local council to close a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from February through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group plans to assist around ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that people are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," notes an researcher. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has meant longer periods of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an significant part in the food chain, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

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