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It's a Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people sacrifice their nights to safeguard the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent study conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Observing a creature that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads annually – that is, several hundred thousand. 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 – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but some move as late as April, until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "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 road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Volunteers usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their carcasses can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on duty, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating 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 barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for things they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he created, imploring the local council to close a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Challenges

A few cars go by when I'm out on duty and we find 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 harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly settled down for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive 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, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist around ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," says an researcher. "This effort 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.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has meant longer periods 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 rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, eating almost any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to try to keep toads present is their "important cultural value," adds an expert. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred