Newts , Newtpoles and Toads 13 june 2011

[Swimingpoolpond]

As a couple of people requested a few pictures of the larger toads from the pool along with a couple of other creatures I spoted.

[GCN lova]

wow i love the pics especially the newt tadpoles. i never knew that they would congegrate together. it looks like you have a male smooth newt in the 8th photo

[Swimingpoolpond]

Yeh it took me a hour to get all the photos, newts are really hard to photo and they keep diving back under the water. I saw one newt come to the surface , same colorings as the black one, GCN i think but it was huge must have been 8 inchs long but I did not have time to take a picture shame.

[~T~]

Fantastic pictures there. Looks like there is a lot of life in your swimming pool pond. I agree it looks like you have multiple newt species too. Have you ever gone down at night with a torch? That place must be alive with amphibians then

[toadpole]

WOW thank you so very much .....can i just ask ...''is the tent in the pool available to hire for 2 weeks ''i could not think of a better holiday ...simply wonderful ....and what a size some of them are ...they certainly have no problem finding food and are obviously quite happy to be out in daylight hours ...mine hide under mats and towels i put over my log pile which i keep damp in warmer weather ....they obviously do like the warmth of the sun as they are on top of the logs all day just with the towel and mats giving them a bit of safety from the hot sun and predation ....and of course they dont dry out like frogs do because of their thicker warty skin ..but yours seem quite happy to be out and about lapping up the sun ...and i suppose they are quite safe in there up to a point ...do you think any have gone from the pool now they have a means of escape (the ladder)....I had one of my last years toadlets turn up to the logpile 3 days ago now .....i was SO excited i really did nearly wet myselfas i nurture ANY form of life that is in my care ...i can only see it as a blessing when it decides to return again to my little garden ...that little Toad is like one of my special ''babies''coming back to see me and letting me know he had a good start in life ...well thats what i like to think ..i get soooo much comfort and pleasure form my wildlife .....and boy was he cute !!!!!...Marion

[toadpole]

as much as i would LOVE to have your swimmingpool and all the contents in my garden it seems i have had a bit of ''swimminpoolpond'' luck come my way ....on thursday night at 11.05 pm precisely !!!i went to let my daughters dog out for the last time ...grabbed my torch to have my usual look in the garden for toads etc ...and there on my path was the Biggest G C Newt i have ever seen !!!!!...a first in this garden ....my daughter took LOADS of pics which i will get her to put on here if i can .she had never seen one before ,i have once many years ago but it was half the size ...so i have actually had this year all 3 species of newt in my pond ...plus 60 odd frogs and my 9 residential toads of various sizes ...what a year so far ...and as for that GCN well i was pinching myself for 2 days simply wonderful ... Marion

[GCN lova]

Originally Posted by toadpole

as much as i would LOVE to have your swimmingpool and all the contents in my garden it seems i have had a bit of ''swimminpoolpond'' luck come my way ....on thursday night at 11.05 pm precisely !!!i went to let my daughters dog out for the last time ...grabbed my torch to have my usual look in the garden for toads etc ...and there on my path was the Biggest G C Newt i have ever seen !!!!!...a first in this garden ....my daughter took LOADS of pics which i will get her to put on here if i can .she had never seen one before ,i have once many years ago but it was half the size ...so i have actually had this year all 3 species of newt in my pond ...plus 60 odd frogs and my 9 residential toads of various sizes ...what a year so far ...and as for that GCN well i was pinching myself for 2 days simply wonderful ... Marion

im so happy for you! i would love to have GCNs in my pond but do you need a license to do anything to their ponds???

[N0z]

Nice!

[toadpole]

thank you well i did enquire about reporting it ...and so did give my postcode to the surrey amphibian and reptile group ..and a GCN enthusiast from the wildlife trust of which i am a member rang me up and gave me a LOT of info all about them which was great ...and just told me that you are not allowed to move them and that to put it under my pile of damp logs ...which i did and it crawled very happily under ...not that i would of wanted to move it anywhere out of my garden ...i was ecstatic Marion