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It's a Friday night at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Decline in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A latest research led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decrease is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live successfully in most of habitats in Britain," so 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 Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to return to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as far as April, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who was raised in the region and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter 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 more regular. However, this means they can miss groups of young toads, which, having existed as spawn and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Efforts

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some logs.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the group a while back. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do jointly to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – 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 video he made, urging the local council to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

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 several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain 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 another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group plans to assist around 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is remarkable," says an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

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