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It's a Friday night at 7:30, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A latest research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Observing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as late as spring, waiting until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are damp, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but several of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Involvement

The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A clip he made, imploring the municipal authority to block a street through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

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

One email I receive from a different helper, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group plans to assist around ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these organizations actually make? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," says an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has meant longer periods of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the loss 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 important role in the ecosystem, eating almost any invertebrates or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

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