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It's a Friday night at half past seven, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A latest study led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in most of areas in Britain," so if even they are struggling to persist, "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, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a small container," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the region and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their route happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook 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 small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed 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 remains can be counted.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever 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 duty, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to walk up and down their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the patrol a while back. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together 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 fresh coordinator lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he made, imploring the local council to close a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Additional Species and Challenges

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive from a different helper, who has kindly made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group plans to assist approximately 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their hibernation more often, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of big water bodies – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

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