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It is Friday night at 7:30, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A latest research led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Observing a species that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in the majority of areas in Britain," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to stay out of water for longer than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – often hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their path crosses a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams collect toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres 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 adult toads are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Year-Round Work

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Community Involvement

The family duo became part of the group a while back. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do together to help 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 decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a street through a protected area during migration season, swung the decision 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. The majority of motorists duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the native community has obviously settled down for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any better success anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street

A message I get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored 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 over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." 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 climate crisis has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to try to keep toads present is their "important cultural value," notes an expert. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred