Now't better than a Newt!

Breeding Male Smooth Newt, adorned with 'Leopard' spots and fluorescent orange belly, which you cant see because I didn't want to stress him out!

Finally, a bit of activity in the ponds! Over the last few days I've noticed an increase in movement around the edges of the Meadows ponds and thought I'd have a sit and wait session to see if the Frogs or anything else had awakened from their winter slumber. There were a trio of grappling pairs of Frogs at least though they're often a little elusive and spend a great of time sitting on the bottom, only appearing to come up for air. Activity will increase dramatically over the next month providing we don't have another cold snap and as amphibians are having a hard time globally, especially frogs, I particularly enjoy seeing them locally. I haven't yet seen a Toad but am surprised that our Newts seem to be emerging in greater numbers earlier than usual. There are three species in the Uk, the biggest, the Great Crested is also the rarest, having declined at an alarming rate across its range. Britain has a particular responsibility for the conservation of Great Crested Newts because it holds the strongest populations of this species, which is threatened in Continental Europe. Leicestershire, certainly east, has a healthy population but so far, I've never found it in the Aylestone area. Mind you, I can't really survey the area for them properly as you need a Licence from English Nature to even touch them, which would be required to document the sighting. The smallest is the Palmate Newt, a species which prefers softer water and a species I've only occasionally found in the southern part of the Meadows. The commonest is the Smooth Newt, the males have an impressive crest and are sometimes confused with the much larger Great Crested. They're actually easier to see at night, certainly surveying with a torch and last night produced six males and a female though the meadows isn't a good area to be nocturnally! Still they can be watched during the day, it just requires a still patch of clear water and some pond weed. In all three species, there is an elaborate courtship ritual in which the male "dances" in front of the female, undulating his crest and showing off his fine colours. After mating, the female lays her eggs singly - using her hind feet to fold the leaf of an underwater plant around each one.
All native British amphibians are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.