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It's Friday night at 7:30, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The common toad is growing more rare. A latest study led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in most of areas in Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads annually – that is, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to find them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as far as spring, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "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 child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm 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 adult toads are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Community Involvement

The mother and son became part of the patrol a while back. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur explains – so when the team was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he created, urging the local council to close a street through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the group'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 spring. Most drivers duly avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any better success elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

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

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group plans to assist around ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Impact and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The reality that volunteers are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, 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 dry weather, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Importance

Another reason to work to preserve toads around is their "important cultural value," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred