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It is a Friday evening at half past seven, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more rare. A recent study conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is labeled "concerning" 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 struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

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

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their route happens to a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Finding many of dead toads on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout 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 advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can overlook numbers of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Work

In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are damp, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to 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 scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for things they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was seeking a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he created, imploring the municipal authority to close a street through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. The majority of motorists duly avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some victims as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the colder months. It seems 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 near-impossible at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group expects to help around ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that volunteers are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," notes an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has resulted in extended spells of drought, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred