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It is Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads annually – that is, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – often hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as late as spring, until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who grew up in the region and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some logs.

Family Participation

The mother and son became part of the group a while back. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the group was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, imploring the local council to block a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

Several cars go past when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from a different helper, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist around ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Impact and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that people are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," 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 – not least because vehicles is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – 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 "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "historical significance," notes an expert. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred