Kitchen Garden Forum

This morning when feeding my indian runner ducks I happened to notice movement in their pond, I scooped it out to rescue, as they would have had it for breakfast lol We have a lot of common newts in the garden , they even play at the bottom of our well, This was a crested newt, with orange belly splotched with black, I slipped him on to the weed in our nature pond
safe from the ducks. It has been a day for nature, I woke to see a fine fox on the roof of our chicken house, they are in a safe pen and he hasn't broken in in 5 yrs but foxes still try ! On my return home from the shops I was surprised to see a completely albino cock pheasant, white as snow! Three unusual sightings in one morning !

Dear Natures Babe, we are lucky to have a lot of Great Crested Newts here, especially down the other end of the village.

A good day for you indeed.

Hi, oldherbacious, yes, if their habitat is in good order they come and they thrive. We also are fortunate because we have a wild strip between us and the farmland.

Please be a little careful not to reveal their exact locations though as they are heavily protected & unscrupulous **** sell them illegally for a lot of money...

Nature's Babe, are you sure it was a crested newt? The male common newt has a slight crested back and at this time of the year also has a bright orange belly. Crested newts, as others have said, are quite rare and need different habitats to the common newts. They are usually only seen at night, if you direct a strong torch into the water.

Great Crested Newts are also far bigger/bulkier and much darker, near black in comparison to Palmate Newts, particularly at this time of the year. Of course they are also a heavily protected endangered species and it's illegal to interfere with or disturb one of them.