A Good Newts Story

Emma Chaplin
, 25 March 2020
A Good Newts Story
Great Crested Newt © Derek Middleton

By Glenn Norris

Ecologist

The reduction of the commute to a few seconds from the sofa to the kitchen certainly makes pouring a drink immediately after work rather too conveniently easy a process. So, as you do, I've been thinking about certain wildlife that looks like it has been on the drink, long before the working day has ended. 

Anyone who has had the pleasure to see a Wryneck in the hand would surely have thought this bird has eaten a few over-ripe fruits (check out YouTube and you’ll see what I mean), but the animal that comes off worse, unfortunately and unnecessarily, is the humble newt.

Like someone who has had too many G&Ts, the awkward gait of the newt takes it wandering around the British countryside, covering incredible distances. Newts often stay within 65m of their breeding ponds but some Great Crested Newts have been recorded travelling over a 1km from the pond; that’s some effort for an animal that can fit on your hand.

Great Crested Newts are one of three native species to the UK and one of my favourite species to see each year. They are almost twice the size of the smaller Smooth and Palmate Newts, black as charcoal and with the most fantastic orange stripy toes and blotchy belly. The pattern of the blotchy underbelly is unique to each newt and is used by some researchers to identify the movements of specific individuals in and around ponds.

The Land Management Team is based at Southerham Farm Nature Reserve, near the Cuilfail Tunnel in Lewes. At the end of the valley of this reserve lies a dew pond that was restored relatively recently. It now holds water every year and I found out that last year before I joined the Trust, an environmental DNA (skin, faeces etc) test of a water sample found there were traces of Great Crested Newt DNA! This is big news, and I was sceptical. Firstly, eDNA tests have been proven to occasionally throw up a false positive result, for example when birds visit from other ponds that contain newts; secondly, the dew pond is well over 1km from any other waterbody, which is a long way for newts to travel and makes their arrival unlikely; and finally, the terrestrial habitat is chalk downland that is regularly grazed and often lacks enough structure for newts during their terrestrial phase.

So, when newt survey season came around this year, I was desperate to confirm the DNA record. After four unsuccessful visits, I arrived for the fifth thoroughly doubtful of anything but the usual toads. As I slowly dragged in the trap, I saw something large and black flash near the surface before hiding deeper in to the trap. I began to pull more vigorously. Then, another flash, this time a black tail with a distinct silvery smear. Holding my breath and fingers trembling, I emptied the trap into the tray and two of the largest male Great Crested Newts I’ve ever seen slid out. A confirmed record for Southerham Farm, only the fourth of Sussex Wildlife Trust Reserves. These two newts became the fourth amphibian species on the reserve, all recorded in 2020. After a quick record shot, I released them and they swam back to the safe depths of the pond to continue their search of a willing female.

This survey undertaken before the lockdown was instigated and conducted under licence

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Comments

  • Tessa Deverill:

    I have had a lifelong passion for ponds and their inhabitants so when my pond was relined and the inhabitants caught an carefully put into recepticles according to species, newts fish etc I was thrilled to find that there were all three species of newts. Once the pond was relined and filled fish, newts larvae were returned. That must be fifteen years ago and I see newts eating the fish food daily at the moment but would love to be able to have someone trip a few to see if the great crested is still there. My neighbour is having massive alterations to her garden and house and I looked on the Wealden website to see what her plan was and noticed that we are a crested newt protected area. How can I be reassured that the great crested newts are still here and not being adversely affected by the work that has been going on for two years? Help!

    25 Apr 2025 09:08:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Hi Tessa, great to hear you have created such a welcoming place for nature, and that the newts are doing well! You could start by recording the newt species you spot in the pond by logging the sightings by iRecord: https://irecord.org.uk/. This data is shared with the Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre, who we work closely with, and who hold the species records for the county. You may also find the Sussex Planning Network for Nature useful: https://sussex-planning-networ... - this is a great resource for people who are concerned about planning in their area. It has some information on protected species, including newts. With neighbours and protection of wildlife, it's often worth having the conversation - your neighbour may not know about the previous Great Crested Newt sightings, and sharing that information could be really valuable. 

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