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It's Friday night at 7:30, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Decline in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A latest research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas in Britain," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

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

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to find them – often long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as April, waiting until it gets night 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 grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Across the UK

Seeing many of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams collect 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 amphibian passages.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are damp, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Involvement

The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for things they could do together to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was seeking a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he created, imploring the municipal authority to close a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several cars 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 particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

One email I get from a different helper, who has generously 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: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group expects to help approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these organizations truly achieve? "The fact that people are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," notes an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of drought, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, eating pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred