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It's a Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their nights to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A latest study led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape 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 the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s

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 crushed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They usually follow their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as far as spring, waiting until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Family Involvement

The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for things they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was seeking a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, imploring the municipal authority to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the council approved an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify 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 another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group expects to help around ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Challenges

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," notes an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the food chain, eating pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

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