Surveying Great Crested Newts underground

[Deb London]

We don't have the technology as yet.

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by Matt Smith

Hi Deb

As I mentioned earlier, newts are positively thigmotactic, they do like to rest in spaces where the body is in contact with the surrounding on both sides.

Further to this observation:
There is a row of old and rather damp cottages in North Hants, all of which have small cellars. Every year they become winter resting places for Great-Crested Newts from a number of nearby ponds, (up to a dozen per cellar). They always rest against a wall, but do not seem to worry that their otherside is exposed, even though there are many places in these old dwellings where they could protected themselves from both sides.
Dorts.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by animartco

Hi Deb. Lovely idea. It wouldn't hurt the newts if you incorporated the endosope while building a hibernacula would it? You would need to use non visible light of course while operating it or they might wake up and go out into the cold. I would go for it if you have the technology!
Oh you'd be installing a thermometre too, to alert you when it starts to warm up?

by definition an endoscope is inserted - and moved arround (its a long tubey thing with a fibre optic camera) you cant therefore incorporate it as the hibernacula is built

that apart i agree with Gill C Ive used an endoscope for bat roost survey and to look at rot in trees and I concur that it is difficult to see much at all - i certainly wouldnt suggest that much useful info will come from 'scoping a newt hibernaculum - so i would agree with matt and dogg that there are more useful survey techniques

[Deb London]

Thanks both for your useful observations and valuable thoughts. x

[dampflippers]

I have only just found this thread while looking for something else.

I don't have experience of GCNs in hibernacula, but when I had to do a smooth newt translocation, I was doing a refuge search every time I visited (a courtyard).
I noted the following:
they would only use heavy, non wobbly refugia. If I put a rockery stone back wrong, I wouldn't find any the next time.
The first time I lifted these stones they were well beddded in, and there were newts in apparently no space at all.
I found them: under rockery stones, on soil under a compost bag, on gravel under ceramic tubs.
They would never be in places that ere actually wet, just slightly moist or more usually quite dry.

[Deb London]

Thank you DF! Very interesting.