The salamandridae family.

Part two the great crested newt.

The great crested newt is the largest of all of the three British newts. They are found throughout the whole of Great Britain. They have dark brown backs and flanks, with large black warty spots on them. Their undersides are either yellow or orange in colour, with  large black blotches that are unique to each individual newt. You can tell the sexes apart from the size of their spots with males having the larger spots.The males can also be told apart from the females by their jagged crest that runs along their back during the breeding season, the crest is smaller along the tail which also has a silver line running along it. The females have no crest but do have a orange stripe running along tip of their tail. Like all newts they normally live on land but will return to their breeding pools to breed. Their breeding is similar to all other newts. After they have performed a courtship display, the male deposits spermataphore (a small packet of sperm) from his cloaca (reproductive and excretory opening) into her path. He will then move sideways in front of her to encourage her into position where the spermataphore will be picked up by her cloaca. No actual mating take place. The females then lays between two to three eggs a day on submerged aquatic plants between March and July. All of the eggs are wrapped carefully in individual leaves. The efts (larvae) hatch after about three weeks and live in the pond as aquatic predators feeding on tadpoles and worm and insect larvae. They are preyed on by fish, so they are rarely in rivers. lakes or garden ponds. After metamorphosis into air breathing juveniles after about four months, they live a mainly terristrial life. They may move up to eight hundred meters from the pond. After about two to three years they reach maturity and return to the same pond to breed. The young and the juveniles spend most of their time in dense cover outside of the breeding season which will include scrub,rough grassland and woodland, rocks and logs are perfect shelter for them. The adult is completely poisonous so is preyed on by very few things, but the efts are not so they will be eaten by fish, rats and grass snakes. They may live for about ten years in the wild. The juveniles and the adults feed on other newts, tadpoles, froglets, worms, insects larvae and water snails. Thet hibernate during winter under logs and rocks or in the mud at the bottom of their breeding pools. They are protected by law.

things to look out for in march.

A common frog.

Its been a little bit colder this winter so everything is a couple of weeks later than normal.The equinox is here on the 21`st of march and that marks the first day of spring.As a pagan i celebrate the equinox as a really important festival because of all of the life that's now starting to manifest in so many different shapes and colours.Bluebells,ramsons,wood anemones and flowering hawthorn blossom are four things to look out for as we move into spring.There is something special about walking through a woodland when the bluebells are in flower.In my experiences trench wood by sale green is my favourite woodland for bluebells.Greater spotted woodpeckers are normally hidden from view,But you might be lucky like me and have one visit your feeders in your garden.If you don`t see one in your garden than head out to the woods with a dead stick,Find a hollow-sounding tree trunk and hammer the trunk in small bursts as fast as you can.With luck your hammering will encourage a territorial woodpecker to come and investigate your hammering,Giving you a lovely view of the bird.common Frog spawn should start to appear from now onwards as common frogs are the earliest amphibians to emerge from hibernation and will head straight towards their breeding grounds ,common Frog spawn is always in a ball whereas toad spawn is always in a line.Towards the end of spring tiny little tadpoles will start to emerge in lakes and ponds throughout Worcestershire.March is the best month to look out for brown hares as well,Brown hares may be seen courting in any month but because there is no lush vegetation for them to hide in march is a good month to spot them.Lowland pasture or ploughed fields are good places to look for them.Robins,Blackbirds,Blue and Great tits and song thrushes should be able to be heard now staking out their territories.Look out for where these birds are singing as it will normally be overlooking their territories.Also look out for our commonest newt,the smooth newt which resembles a smaller and slicker version of the greater crested newt.Toads and the other two species of newts,greater crested and the palm newt will all breed as well through march.Adders will start to emerge from hibernation as well as it starts to get warmer.
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Small tortoiseshell on a spear thistle.

Brimstone,comma,peacock and small tortoiseshells should be out being seduced by the beautiful spring sunshine.Primroses should be out in force by the end of march,They get their name from the words prima rose meaning the first rose but they are not actually a rose.Bumble bees such as bombus pratorum and bombus hortorum will be seen visiting long tubular flowers,the first can be identified by an orange band on its abdomen and the latter by a white band on its abdomen.Buzzards can be seen as they hunt over meadowland,They are getting ready to have their young later on in spring.Normally they would be looking for carrion but at the start of the year they can be seen hunting.