- Joined
- Oct 14, 2004
- Messages
- 3,259
- Reaction score
- 65
- Points
- 48
- Location
- Bristol
- Country
- United Kingdom
We’ve had a heat wave here in the UK this weekend with some barmy t-shirt and shorts weather; a rare event in this country. When my wife asked me what I’d like to do today I suggested finding a nice pond in the country and having a picnic in the sun. I like ponds, she likes the sun, what could be better? So sandwiches made, we set off in search of a pond and after some hiking, blisters and mild sun stroke we found a lovely spot 20 minutes drive out of the city.
The pond was teeming with both Rana temporaria and Bufo bufo tadpoles. In places the water was black with them. Unfortunately it was well stocked with fish, some quite large, and I didn’t see signs of newts.
Tadpoles!
Lizards were enjoying the rare sunshine. This one looks like a female Lacerta vivipara with a dropped tail.
Picnic finished we headed into the woods to escape the heat and found lots of small temporary pools being used by newts and frogs. Some pools were densely populated with L.helveticus and despite their temporary appearance, not much more than puddles, they were clearly being used as breeding sites as the well advanced larvae proved. I wasn’t prepared for newt photography so I improvised with a sandwich bag from the picnic.
Lissotriton helveticus
And finally - the enemy, always on the look out for tasty newts…
The pond was teeming with both Rana temporaria and Bufo bufo tadpoles. In places the water was black with them. Unfortunately it was well stocked with fish, some quite large, and I didn’t see signs of newts.
Tadpoles!
Lizards were enjoying the rare sunshine. This one looks like a female Lacerta vivipara with a dropped tail.
Picnic finished we headed into the woods to escape the heat and found lots of small temporary pools being used by newts and frogs. Some pools were densely populated with L.helveticus and despite their temporary appearance, not much more than puddles, they were clearly being used as breeding sites as the well advanced larvae proved. I wasn’t prepared for newt photography so I improvised with a sandwich bag from the picnic.
Lissotriton helveticus
And finally - the enemy, always on the look out for tasty newts…
