🔗 Share this article

It's Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A latest research led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Observing a creature that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape in decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of habitats 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 Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, 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 route happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not nightly, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate 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 two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Involvement

The mother and son joined the patrol a while back. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he made, imploring the local council to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on duty and we discover some victims as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he tells me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

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

Historical Significance

An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," notes an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred