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It's Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than 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 committed people give up their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A latest research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Seeing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but some move as late as April, until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their path crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can miss groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their water habitats 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 "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are damp, or if someone has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the patrol a while back. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner 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 made, urging the local council to block a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly 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 late winter, he tells me, the group plans to assist around ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are doing this consistently 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 vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The climate crisis has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Importance

An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred