Great crested newts

[Alex90]

Hi all,

first of all some very exciting news, tonight i discovered several great crested newts that have emerged from the winter hibernation spots to head for water.

However i have some concerns, 2 of the newts i saw while walking along my drive last night we situated out the front of my house this is some 200 meters from the nearest "newt-ish" habitat.

We know there have been newts in our woods long before we moved into the house, the groundskeeper(been with the house for some 40 years) usually picks them up chucks them in the wheel barrow with compost and then puts them down at the end of the woods where they naturally congregate.

My query being these newts that appear to have gone astray, is they anything wrong with me moving them in the right direction. my biggest concern is we have staff in early tommorow morning and the newts are crossing the drive and likely to be run over if they havent vacated the area.

Any advice much appreciated, im off outside to take a few pictures of them.

Alex

[marvin]

hi

its really good that you are concerned about the newts but i think if you leave them alone they'll be fine.

tim

[Deb London]

We sometimes see them at volunteering. We are not allow to touch or handle them in any way. HOWEVER this rule is waived if they are in immediate danger. But we are always reminded of the hefty fine and prison sentence in case we had forgotten the first fifty times that this was drummed into us.

PS Alex, may I ask whereabouts in the country you are? No an exact location or anything. Just a region. I'm curious to work out when the ones here might be/have been on the move.

[King Edward]

Originally Posted by Deb London

We sometimes see them at volunteering. We are not allow to touch or handle them in any way. HOWEVER this rule is waived if they are in immediate danger. But we are always reminded of the hefty fine and prison sentence

To be honest, the legal protection afforded to Great Crested Newts is quite over the top, to the extent that it's just about illegal to even look at them (e.g. using a torch at night). I'm not aware of any evidence that the species is at all threatened by such minor practices, rather than by the much more serious problem of habitat destruction which should be the primary focus of the law. Of course, there is the potential problem of disease transmission from site to site via e.g. pond nets, but that's probably more likely to happen during legal, licensed surveys anyway.

[maccyd82]

Great crested newts can hibernate up 500 m from thier breeding ponds, so Im sure they are making thier way there.

[Ben Rigsby]

Originally Posted by King Edward

To be honest, the legal protection afforded to Great Crested Newts is quite over the top, to the extent that it's just about illegal to even look at them (e.g. using a torch at night). I'm not aware of any evidence that the species is at all threatened by such minor practices, rather than by the much more serious problem of habitat destruction which should be the primary focus of the law.

totally agree. it also makes life tough for people who have them in their gardens.
they are common in my area.

cheers all!

[lizard orchid]

Originally Posted by Alex90

Hi all,

first of all some very exciting news, tonight i discovered several great crested newts that have emerged from the winter hibernation spots to head for water.

However i have some concerns, 2 of the newts i saw while walking along my drive last night we situated out the front of my house this is some 200 meters from the nearest "newt-ish" habitat.

We know there have been newts in our woods long before we moved into the house, the groundskeeper(been with the house for some 40 years) usually picks them up chucks them in the wheel barrow with compost and then puts them down at the end of the woods where they naturally congregate.

My query being these newts that appear to have gone astray, is they anything wrong with me moving them in the right direction. my biggest concern is we have staff in early tommorow morning and the newts are crossing the drive and likely to be run over if they havent vacated the area.

Any advice much appreciated, im off outside to take a few pictures of them.

Alex

If you see the newts on the drive again and are worried about them please do move them off and put them in nearby long vegetation. A this time of year they are heading off to their breeding sites.
I have problems here in Northamptonshire where they get run over or get trapped in roadside drains on their way to their breeding sites where I have to help them out and get them across the roads between now and May.

Brian Laney Northamptonshire county recorder for reptiles and amphibians.

[Gill Catton]

I'd add another voice to suggest that although they may seem out of place they probably know where they are going and will move several 100 meters to any breeding pond (and this can be an over-looked ditch rather than a bi pond) from a hibernation site.

Definately move them though if the seem at risk of being run over pay attention to which direction they seemed to be travelling though so they don't have to cross back over the drive when you've gone!!

Love GCNs and I think you're very lucky

[Alex90]

Just to update, all in all i have seen 7 GCN out the front and another in the woods half way down the drive.

with regards to moving them i left all those that i found on the night time and they seem to have found their way, however on monday i did move one newt from the drive onto the lawn.. all of 4 feet but staff were on their way in and not being particularly wildlife enthusiastic may welll have run the poor newt over.

I managed to get some pictures of one newt which was on a veyr moss part of the front terrace, as you can see bright sushine and out in the open, im very suprised a crow or such like didnt spot her(?) as she stuck out like a sore thumb! Left her to it however and she made it to shade within a few hours... moving all of 4 meters in this time, quite suprised she didnt dry out completely with the sun!

Flickr: AlexEames' Photostream

As you can see from the pictures... very slowly moving along... speed measurable in inches per hour!

Fantastic creatures and we are very lucky to have them here... turns out we have moved into something of a herpetilogical hot spot.

We are off to Kenya tommorow but i am almost as excited to get back for the adders!

[GCN lova]

i believe its a female because of its tail's orange underside