Newts on roads!

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Peter Parrot

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Following the post regarding the new Toad crossing site that we are looking after http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60169 I thought that I would report on the increasing numbers of palmate newts on the road also.

Yesterday evening`s result;

Toads total 49 (14 pairs, 15 singles, 6 heading back to woods)
Dead toads - 5
Frogs going back - 7
Palmate newts - 69
Dead palmate newts - 7
 
Here is the bucket full of newts collected and released on the aquatic habitat side of the road.
 

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Good work, Peter! Thanks for sharing.
 
Wow, that is a lot of newts. Do you help them across the road every night? More people should help amphibians across roads. It is sad to see fatalities.
 
Thanks all. :cool:

AJ, during the toad breeding season we are out on any wet night. We were this evening but it was too dry and cold and very few amphibians were moving. The newt breeding season is a good deal more protracted and they may journey to the breeding ponds throughout March and April over here. It is not so obvious as in the case with frogs and toads so I imagine a great many newt crossing sites are not identified. Combine that with the fact that predators and scavengers such as buzzards and corvids operate a pretty good clean up response so by removing the evidence so to speak, many caudate crossing sites more than likely go unidentified.
 
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A good night's work Peter!
 
You are doing a great service to the future of those newts (and frogs/toads) in general! You are a credit to all REAL herpers! Thank you!

-jbherpin-
 
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