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It is a Friday night at 7:30, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their nights to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Decline in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A latest study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Observing a species 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 "should be able to live successfully in most of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to stay out of water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Fittingly, the first toads start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the region and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their route crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the United Kingdom

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can miss groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, 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 run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Family Participation

The mother and son joined 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 mother started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was seeking a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A video he created, urging the local council to block a street through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council approved an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. The majority of motorists duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

The group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road

One email I receive from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help around 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is remarkable," says an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, consuming pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred