Small puddles with newts (I. alpestris and L. helveticus)

[Thomas F]

Hi,

a few pics of alpine and palmate newts in the wild. I've found them in small puddles with much litter leaf and in a small flooded landarea.

In the flooded landarea (pics 3-5) I've seen daphina

Cheers,
Thomas

 

[Chinadog]

I've always wanted to find some L. helveticus here in the UK, they're the only British native herp I haven't seen over the years.

 

[Blackbun]

Thomas you are so lucky to see alpine newts. I have read so much about them but never seen them. Thank you for sharing these.

Chinadog, are you ever in Berkshire? I can tell you exactly where to see palmates in number. I've also got a pond which is teaming with them. You can count tens of them. They come to the surface to eat the small fish pellets. Years back I only saw them on peaty woodland pools with minimal vegetation but how they seem to be most places. Wonderful newts. I long to see crested newts,

Here's the pond I dug for the newts in my garden. No fish! Six years old now.

 

[Chinadog]

What a lovely pond.
I wish we had space for something similar, although I shouldn't complain, even our small nature pond seems to attract more than it's share of wildlife. It is still possible to obtain legal Great created newt eggs. I raised some last year and released them in the pond as late stage larvae and will do the same this year. It apparently takes around two to three years for them to mature and return to their pond to breed, so it shouldn't be too long until they start returning, touch wood!

 

[Blackbun]

Thank you Chinadog. Your comments are much appreciated. I often have a look out there after dark with the torch and every time I dream I'll see some crested newts. I've lived at this property for forty plus years. As a kid I was always bringing things home and deep down I do wonder if the palmates might have had something to do with those poor creatures I'd bring home.
The pond is very special to me. Six years back I was signed off work for four months with severe depression. My goodness you don't even want to go there. I thought with the time off something positive had to come about and so I started digging. I wanted a pond for the newts and dragonflies. It took about ten days to dig by hand and move one bucket of soil at a time. I had to do it on my own too. I did it the hard way so I'd really work for it and bond with it. Then there was the lining with sand and hauling the very heavy and almost unmanageable liner. The perimeter just kept getting bigger. I diverted the house guttering down pipe to fill the pond and that's what maintains it now. It is full of T.vulgaris and I mean full but also many T.helvetica. I would have liked to see frogs and toads but these days no longer do. It doesn't help that heron are no longer the shy and retiring birds that they used to be.

 

[Thomas F]

AW: Re: Small puddles with newts (I. alpestris and L. helveticus)

Yes, that's a very nice pond Bunny!

Here is a small movie of the alpine newt in "action":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm-ojlEXSPg

Cheers,
Thomas

 

[jewett]

I cannot express the jealousy I have over you folks that can go and find caudates in your local wild places! In Utah, the only native caudate is the tiger salamander, and while I have been privileged to find a few on hikes, I would love to see a wider variety of caudates in wild places.

And GREAT pond, Bunny! Were I to dig a pond, it would only attract mosquitoes and the occasional nephew...

HJ