Great Crested Newt

It’s a very mild and damp night, and the amphibians are on the move from their hibernation sites to their breeding ponds. After reading on the village Facebook site that newts had been seen this evening on Main Street, I went for a torchlit walk around the village. This great crested newt was on Worsendale Road and had nearly made it to the field with her breeding pond. I found 4 more on Garrowby Road and Main Street, as well as a Smooth Newt and a Common Toad. Alas, there were at least three squished GCNs on Garrowby Road.

All the great crested newts were females like this one, uncrested, 5-6 inches long and their abdomens bulging with unfertilized eggs. We see a lot of them in the village. The males have their crests in the breeding season, and I presume they emerge from hibernation with their crests formed ready for breeding.

When C was growing up in the village, she used to think they were little black lizards, they are after all much larger and darker than our other two newt species. They also enjoy a high level of protection in the UK and in Europe. Indeed even handling one requires a licence, something I didn’t have tonight when I moved them off the road and into the field with the pond. But given they tend to remain static for minutes, they are rather vulnerable on the road in the evening, so perhaps I’ll be forgiven.