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It's Friday evening at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on British roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as late as spring, until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their route crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Finding hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and advocating for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Work

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when conditions are damp, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting 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 several of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Family Involvement

The mother and son became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

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

A message I get from a different helper, who has kindly made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help around ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Impact and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are doing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an rise 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. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the food chain, eating pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – such as creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "historical significance," adds an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred