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It is Friday night at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A recent study led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" 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 the ecosystem is unbalanced."

Since 1985, Britain's toad numbers have nearly been cut in half

The Threat from Roads

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

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

A local helper, who grew up in the region and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Volunteers tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having existed as spawn 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 are destroyed by vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some logs.

Family Participation

The family duo joined the patrol a while back. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the group was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he made, imploring the municipal authority to block a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

A message I receive from a different helper, who has generously taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is remarkable," says an researcher. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of big water bodies – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred