Western Morning News (Saturday)
For newts... just add water
It may not be obvious, but spring has sprung below water as well as above. Newts are gathering to breed in standing pools and Charlie Elder discovers plenty in his garden pond
Spring is just around the corner – the birds are singing, the flowers bursting into bloom, and life is stirring in the garden pond… During a sunny day this week I took the opportunity to gently rake some of the weed and leaves from my garden pond and found aquatic invertebrates and amphibians aplenty.
It is newts that I get in decent numbers in my west Dartmoor garden – that is, palmate newts, a species which is particularly abundant in the west of England.
Free from fish, with plenty of weed and shallow sunny areas, the pond obviously meets their requirements, and they are a pleasure to provide for, being characterful little creatures.
All of our amphibians, including frogs and toads, are aquatic for at least part of their life cycle, with adults returning to water to breed at this time of year.
As the skin of amphibians is not waterproof, like that of reptiles, they must remain moist and predominantly live in damp habitats when on land.
Out of water, perhaps disturbed under a log or found hiding beneath a stone, is when our newts are most likely to be confused with lizards, given they have a similar appearance. You could say there is a hard and fast rule for telling them apart: scaly reptilian lizards are just that – hard to touch and fast when active. Velvety-skinned newts are soft and slow.
In water newts are obviously in their element, swimming with legs pressed to their sides and tail powering them along as they come up for a quick gulp of air before diving down to the safety of the weedy depths.
They don’t deposit clumps of spawn like frogs, or strings like toads, but instead lay individual eggs on the leaves of water vegetation.
We have three kinds of newt in Britain: the great crested, smooth and palmate newt.
The palmate newt is the smallest of the bunch, measuring roughly three-and-a-half inches in length, and gets its name from the webbed back feet of breeding males – the joined black toes spread like the palm of a hand.
This feature is a useful way to identify them as they are quite similar looking to the smooth newt, though far less fancy looking in the breeding season.
The male palmate newt is dark olive or brown with dark spots on the sides. As well as the black webbed back feet, the tip of the male’s tail has a little filament sticking out of the end, like a stripped fuse wire. Females are lighter in colour and quite plain.
Carefully flipped onto their back the palmate newt has a plain throat, while the smooth newt has black spots on its throat.
Palmate newts like shallow pools and favour slightly acidic water, so tend to be found in ponds on heathland and moorland, which is why they predominate in the west Dartmoor area where I live.
They are best observed by torchlight at night, when breeding males may be seen in the spring and summer displaying in front of females, fanning their tails in the shallows.
The smooth newt, sometimes known as the ‘common newt’, is a widespread species and outside the breeding season they can be fairly unexceptional in appearance.
However, in spring and early summer male newts of all our species are more impressive looking, and the smooth newt is no exception – a real showstopper with a wavy crest and dark spots on the flanks.
They frequently inhabit garden ponds and, unlike palmate newts, prefer slightly alkaline water.
Finally, the great crested newt is the largest of our three native newts, and breeding males, with an impressive jagged crest running the length of their body, are rightly nicknamed ‘dragons’.
Growing to around six inches in length, great crested newts are easy to distinguish from other newts based on their size alone. They have a rough and warty skin, and are blackish brown with an orange, spotted belly.
This protected species, which has suffered declines due to habitat loss, is widespread, though less common in the West. They generally breed in
large ponds, small lakes or flooded mineral workings – the males engaging in elaborate tail fanning courtship displays – and are most easily observed at night during the spring breeding season by searching water margins with a torch after dark.
After breeding, great crested newts spend the rest of the year on land, feeding on invertebrates, and hibernate underground during winter. Males lack the crest during this terrestrial phase. They are relatively long-lived, and have topped 14 years in the wild.
The simple act of digging a pond is virtually guaranteed to attract amphibians such as newts, and is proving a vital tool in their conservation.
The loss of ponds across the wider countryside means gardens have become an increasingly important refuge for our most common species. Amphibians also provide excellent pest-eating services for gardeners.
When creating a garden wildlife pond, a lack of fish is preferable as they will eat amphibian eggs. Providing varying depths and sides that allow amphibians to enter and exit the water easily is also important.
This week during my pond clearance I dumped the weed raked out right next to the edge for a good few hours to enable any critters within to wriggle back into the water.
Sifting through the heaps of weed I found eight adult palmate newts and some young ones, known as larvae.
These juveniles might have been laid later in the March to June breeding season last year and over-wintered, not being fully enough developed to clamber out and survive. Metamorphosis can also be delayed in heavily shaded or upland ponds.
Once out and about a newt’s terrestrial phase can last two or three years before they return to breed, and smaller species like the palmate newt can live for at least six years.
Good to know the adults I found during my annual pond clearance are back for courtship and egg laying ahead, and young ones are waiting in the wings ready to take their first steps on land.
With a net newts are easy to catch and observe up close, and are ideal when trying to encourage children to forge an interest in nature. Unlike spring-loaded frogs that hop away, newts are docile and easy to hold and have an endearing quality to them.
So if you don’t have a pond and want to enjoy the wealth of wildlife they attract, get digging!