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It is a Friday night at half past seven, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A recent research conducted by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers 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 "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in the UK," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

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

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the drop, cars is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can journey farther to find them – sometimes long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as late as April, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Finding many of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable 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 more difficult to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Year-Round Work

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their group chat. 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 helpers willingly accept 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. 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.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A clip he made, imploring the local council to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council approved an "access-only" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

A message I get from a different helper, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist around 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

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 should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, eating almost any invertebrates or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Historical Importance

An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred