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It's Friday night at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people sacrifice their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is growing more rare. A recent research conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as late as spring, until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Seeing many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "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.

Annual Work

In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when conditions 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 admit it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child 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.

Community Involvement

The family duo became part of the patrol a while back. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do together to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he made, urging the municipal authority to close a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the council approved an "restricted access" restriction between evening and morning from February through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. 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 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 couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

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

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group plans to assist around 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The fact that people are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, consuming almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an expert. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred