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It is a Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people sacrifice their evenings to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A latest study led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of habitats in Britain," meaning 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 Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the decline, cars is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed 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 prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as far as April, waiting until it gets night and moving through the night. During that period, toads start moving from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their route crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – preventing a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers willingly accept 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 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The mother and son became part of the group a while back. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for things they could do together to help native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the team was seeking a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, imploring the local council to close a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "access-only" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

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

A message I receive from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help around 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Challenges

What level of impact 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 deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the food chain, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Cultural Importance

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