Newts in Garden Ponds
Cheshire has abundant farm ponds, a relict of the practice a couple of centuries ago of digging the rich clay, or Marl, as an agricultural fertiliser. Due to these ponds Cheshire is now home to many amphibians rare in the rest of Britain. Among these, the best known is probably the great crested newt, a huge warty amphibian, looking like a small dinosaur.
Cheshire is home to all three British species of newt, and all three can be found in gardens and garden ponds. Newts are seldom seen, as they prefer to lurk in cool damp places, where they are safe from predators and from drying out, and are mainly active after dark.
Although newts depend on the water to breed in, the adults spend much of their lives on land, hunting for worms and any other small invertebrates. They move into the breeding ponds in March, then leave at the end of the breeding season, in May or June depending on the weather.
Finding newts in your Garden
You will sometimes uncover newts while gardening. They will often lie still, in the hope of not being noticed. Favourite hiding places are under logs and paving slabs, and even underneath plastic compost bags. Another way to find newts during the breeding season is to shine a torch into the pond at night. Undercover of darkness they will come out into open water, and can be seen climbing through vegetation or resting on the bottom. However if you find great crested newts by torch-light this constitutes disturbance (see below), so after finding one you should not search again.
Don't break the Law!
Great crested newts are strictly protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and it is an offence to harm or disturb them. Disturbance means deliberately uncovering, touching or moving the newts. The eggs and even the pond itself are also protected. If you disturb a newt unintentionally while gardening you are allowed to move it to safety.
Which Newt?
Of the three species, the smooth newt is the commonest, and the most likely to turn up in gardens. The smooth newt lives up to it's name, on land it has an almost velvety skin. It is a delicate animal with a pointed face. The orange belly is covered in spots, tiny dots on the female and bigger patches on the male, a useful way of telling them apart outside the breeding season (the male bears an undulating crest along his back during the breeding season).
The great crested newt is a more impressive animal, dark coloured with a rough warty skin and a chunky appearance. During the breeding season the male sports a long jagged crest all along his back and tail, with a break where the tail joins the body. Both sexes have a bright orange-yellow belly, covered with black blotches: the pattern of these is unique to each animal, like a human fingerprint.
The palmate newt is the rarest. It looks similar to the smooth newt, but is slightly smaller. Outside the breeding season it can be difficult to tell the two apart. In the breeding season the male has an unimpressive crest. His hind feet are permanently webbed, and turn black in the breeding season – look for a newt which appear to be wearing out-size gloves! The tail end in a hair-then filament, unique to this species. Palmate newts are often found in acidic waters, on heaths, moors and uplands.
Have you seen a newt?
Although we have many ponds and amphibians we should never be complacent. We are still losing farm ponds and no one knows how many newts we still have. Most previous amphibian surveys looked at farm ponds. No one, to our knowledge, has looked at newts in garden ponds in Cheshire. Yet gardens and garden ponds are a huge potential resource for newts. If you think you have newts in your garden, of any species, please do use the form below to let us know.
Thank you for helping us learn more about Cheshire's newts
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