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It is a Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent study led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas in the UK," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates 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 research didn't examine the causes for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for longer than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as April, until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their route happens to a street, 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 many of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups pick up toads and carry them over streets in containers, 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 breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions 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 duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to walk up and down their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Community Involvement

The mother and son became part of the group a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for things they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he created, imploring the municipal authority to close a street through a protected area during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims 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 dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

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

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, 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 group plans to assist around 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that people are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "This effort 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 vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant longer periods of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the food chain, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

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