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It's Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A latest research conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Observing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in the majority of areas in Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't examine the causes for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads annually – that is, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can journey farther to find them – sometimes long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

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 travelling through the night. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their path happens to a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

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 currently registered with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Volunteers tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their carcasses 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 nightly, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child 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 check under some wood.

Community Involvement

The mother and son became part of the group a while back. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for things they could do together to help native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group 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 created, imploring the municipal authority to block a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council approved an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Importance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "historical significance," adds an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred