Wednesday night this week, I found a Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) on my front doorstep. it's not unusual to find the odd frog of toad by the door but this is the first Great Crested Newt to pay us a visit. They used to breed in the old clay pit oppositie the house and now do so in my neighbour's garden pond. This particular individual was a male; the tail stripe was faintly present but no crest evident yet (I don't have the necessary licence to photograph Great Crested Newts, so the pic above is generic). It is also quite early for this species to be making its move to breeding ponds but it's been so mild this winter, I guess they are active early. If you do spot an amphibians in your gardens this spring, please report your sightings on the Sussex Amphibian Group website.
JW
Early in the evening of 6th March I checked our garden pond and counted at least 18 Great Crested Newts, all males. later that night I checked again and found a similar number, but this time about half were female. On the second visit there were also a few smooth (or common) newts, and at least one palmate.
TH
JW
Early in the evening of 6th March I checked our garden pond and counted at least 18 Great Crested Newts, all males. later that night I checked again and found a similar number, but this time about half were female. On the second visit there were also a few smooth (or common) newts, and at least one palmate.
TH