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It's Friday night at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent 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 UK landscape in decline is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in the UK," meaning 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 Roads

Though the study didn't examine the reasons for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to 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 buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an irregular timetable in late 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 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 conditions are damp, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Involvement

The family duo became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was seeking a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he created, imploring the local council to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to clarify 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 get from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in late winter, he informs me, the group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The fact that people are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." 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 global warming has resulted in longer periods of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of big water bodies – is another menace.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Importance

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