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It is a Friday night at half past seven, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more uncommon. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population 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 habitats in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't examine the reasons for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's common for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as far as April, waiting until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Finding many of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups pick up toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of 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 harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on duty, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – 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 find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. After for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Involvement

The family duo became part of the group a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a street through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts 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 better success elsewhere in the nation – all the rescue teams I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive from a different helper, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group expects to help around ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," says 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 traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant longer periods of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "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 small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Importance

An additional motive to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred