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It's Friday night at half past seven, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more rare. A latest study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully 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."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the study didn't examine the causes for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually follow their traditional paths – it's common for mature amphibians to return to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the region and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their route happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, exit their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

Unlike 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 amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Community Involvement

The family duo became part of the patrol a while back. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for things they could do together to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the group was seeking a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A video he made, urging the local council to close a road through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some victims as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has obviously settled down for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

The group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road

One email I get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Challenges

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," says an researcher. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has meant extended spells of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, 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 hibernation more frequently, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred