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It's a Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A latest study led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decline is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

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

The Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability 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 traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, waiting until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, exit their ponds over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Year-Round Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. After for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Family Involvement

The family duo joined the group a while back. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur explains – so when the team was seeking a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the group. A clip he created, imploring the local council to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" rule between evening and morning from February through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success elsewhere in the country – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive from a different helper, who has kindly taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Challenges

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," says an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in 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 caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

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