Great Crested Newts

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Woohoo!! We've just spotted some geat crested newts in our garden pond.

We inherited a rather dilapidated pond when we bought our house last year - in quite a rural area. The pond had 2 big goldfish in it, and my DH went to work clearing some of the growth out of the pond and from around it and forgot to put the net back over it. The crafty heron who hung around quickly snaffled the two goldfish. I intended replacing them, but saw loads of frog spawn so delayed, wanting the frogs to survive.

Having a look at the tadpoles yesterday I noticed some lizard looking creatures, and on closer look and with the help of google have realised that they're great crested newts. How cool is that?!

Now I'm not sure what to do. Definitely won't be putting fish back in there because fish will eat newt eggs. Should I report them to someone? Want to give them some protection but not sure what they need (apart from no fish!). Anyone have any advice?

Wow, cool! I've only seen bog standard newts in my garden.

They are protected so you can't move them. This charity should be able to advise you.

There's some info here on how to get rid of herons.

Funnily enough, the heron hasn't been around since he nabbed the goldfish! Before that he was always there. I do want to replace the netting or put some other protection over the pond, as we have a lot of birds around including some large crows and even some kingfishers. I have put an old metal gate over it at the moment, but it doesn't quite cover all of the pond, but does cover the deepest part where the newts are.

I have no intention of moving the newts, just want to make sure the pond stays in a decent condition for them, perhaps put some different plants in there (after they finish this breeding season), and give them somewhere they can overwinter as apparently they need somewhere to be out of the frost - like a pile of logs. I did a lot of algae clearing so the water is relatively clean. I topped up the water (hopepipe ban has a welfare of animals exemption so figured a protected species of newt certainly came in under that!) It's a big enough point that cats and other creatures can't get to them.

Have banned DH from using any chemicals in the garden, to make sure there's no toxins in the area which is probably why they moved in.

Thanks for that charity link. It has listed a few plants which newts like for egg laying so will hunt them down.

My DH is a newt expert! He is out at the beach but back soon and I will get him to post. I think you may need to report them to someone, as the pond will need to be protected (important if you move and someone less caring moves in). When i met DH he had a job counting GC newts, hundreds of the little devils, he had to go out at night on the location and count them in their ponds..

helly- was that in Cambs? I live near the charity I linked to and there are tons of GC newts around here.

It was near Peterborough, there were some old brick pits full of newts and the site was up for development.

That's the place! It's not far from me. They've built a huge housing development near there now and loads of the building work got delayed because they had to move all the newts.

All down to my DH, his colleague, and their midnight countings...!! Lovely countryside there, I was amazed by the big skies and the whole landscape. Very different to anywhere I'd ever been before.

Oops on the water! Oh well, the pond is a good size so percentage wise the amount I added was fairly minor. They looked ok today, anyway.

That would be great, helly. The pond will eventually need some work done on it as it's not in the best of conditions, but will obviously need to wait until the end of the breeding season.

Just to update (and shamelessly bump in case Helly's DH wants to give some advice ).

I visited a pond specialist and bought 2 small leaved plants which newts apparently like, and grass like plant to sit at the bottom of the pond which is a water purificator, and which the newts also like (sorry, I know one is a water forget me not but can't think of the other plants' names!).

I was thinking of removing some of the algae, but when I lifted some up I found some newt tadpoles in there so gently put it back in and am leaving it alone. I guess the algae is giving them somewhere to hide, as I have read that the frogs and their tadpoles can predate on newt tadpoles, and the frog tadpoles are significantly larger than these precious little babies! I could see quite a few in just a small area, so suspect I will have a bit of a population growth.

They seem to be happy so will leave alone for now - apart from loitering at the side of the pond to catch a glimpse of them .

The Great Crested Newt has just cost the MOD an extra £50K on planned building works where I am and they only even confirmed the presence of 5 of the buggers.

(Don't tell the conservationists that BossDog managed to eat one before we got to him...that's one bloody expensive snack)

Bit pricier than a tin of Pedigree Chum!

I actually saw one of the elusive newts the other day, the first time I've seen one despite living in the epicentre of the great crested newt world for most of my life. I got excited but DD1 was more interested in poking at stick into the pond.

Hi I am (I am told) a 'DH' of Helly (hopefully not one of many). My newt knowledge is a bit rusty. But: you dont need to notify anyone. You are not allowed by law to kill them or destoy their habitat. On the whole I think youre right about fish - usually dont get on, but I have vague memory that one of the newt species arent so bothered by fish and can co-exist. Not sure if it Great crested or one of the others. You can try looking on English nature web site or ringing them up and trying to get hold of a herpetologist there (or ask specifically for their expert on GC newts). I had success recently in getting to talk to my local expert on slow worms! Otherwise I think the thing to remember is that they wouldnt be there unless they liked the way it is so dont mess too much. Just leave be and enjoy. If you have kids (or in any case) in the spring you can look out for bits of grass / weeds that have been bent over. If you look closely and carefully (without opening up the fold) you can see where the newts lay a single egg and bend the grass / leaf around it for protection. Hope that of some help - probably not incredibly informative, but its been a long time since I walked the ponds!

Thank you MrHelly!

We certainly didn't have any newts while the fish were there. Don't think the pond is big enough for them to coexist. Only limited frogs as well while the fish were there, and having a bit of a population explosion with them as well (until the newts have them for lunch! ).

Our neighbour's pond (fishless) also has the GC Newts. She put lots of frog spawn in there (from yet another neighbour) a few years ago but the newts seem to have devoured the tadpoles and she didn't see any frogs after about a year. I'm hoping my frogs last a little longer. I suspect she clears her pond out fairly frequently (looks quite 'designer' compared to ours), and has fewer plants in number and (now that I've added the extras) variety, so there's nowhere for the frogs to hide/loiter.

I'm quite chuffed with my garden actually - well not with what I've done because it needs a heck of a lot of work - but with it's location. I have also seen a few slow worms, so we have them as well.

Our bird feeder is regularly visited by Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Jays, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Greenfinches, and loads of other birds that I'm trying to identify. DH is adament he's seen a raven a few times as well.

Could sit at the back door with a cup of tea and watch them for hours!

We have slow worms in our garden too. I had pet ones as a child and would take them with me into school in a cardboard box (aah the glory days of the 1970's). They give birth to live young, if you google "slow worm giving birth" you can see an amzing film of it. Wish we had GC newts, we just have the common kind. Your birds sound as though you are near to woodland- so you might have black caps and bullfinches, goldfinches, dunnocks, jackdaws etc. those are all birds we get, along with the odd rook as we are near farm land, but sadly no ravens.

Fascinating.

I read the wiki page on dunnocks. Very funny. I totally fell for that one. I think though that the bird in the garden I always thought was a starling is in fact a.....dunnock!