Found some newts!!

SnakeyJay · 11-13-11, 08:53 AM

Hey everyone, while out scaffolding a house that was water damaged i came across a few newts while having a look around on my breaks. i thought id share a few pics that i took. Apologies for the bad quality as they were taken on my phone camera.
For those of you who dont know the brown/tan coloured smooth newts are common newts and the black newts are Great Crested Newts.

SnakeyJay · 11-13-11, 08:58 AM

Also a toad that was hopping around

alessia55 · 11-13-11, 09:05 AM

so cool! I've never seen a newt in the wild. Don't they move super fast? I don't think I'd be fast enough to catch one like you did!

SnakeyJay · 11-13-11, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alessia55

so cool! I've never seen a newt in the wild. Don't they move super fast? I don't think I'd be fast enough to catch one like you did!

At this time of year they cum up on land and when disturbed they tend to freeze. They were under logs that we had to move to erect scaffolding. So i had a look for more

... the only ones i actually picked up were the ones that would have been crushed as we worked. The great crested newt is endangered so touch as little as possible lol.

stephanbakir · 11-13-11, 10:07 AM

Great finds!

infernalis · 11-13-11, 10:13 AM

Nice finds. Different species of newts than the ones I see. The back wetlands are breeding grounds for newts..

SnakeyJay · 11-13-11, 11:55 AM

Thanks everyone... im just pleased to see any at all. So many of our small number of native reptiles and amphibians are losing numbers.

Shmoges · 11-13-11, 12:03 PM

Didn't know you guys had a newt that looks exactly like the eastern newts we have in Minnesota. The darker one is a salamander I think not a newt, looks like its shedding too.

bigsnakegirl785 · 11-13-11, 12:06 PM

No, I'm pretty sure they are newts. Salamanders have smooth skins and newts tend to have rough skin. And you can also tell by the eyes, and the heads are slightly different. I'm not an expert, just stating the differences I've seen in many salamander and newt species.

SnakeyJay · 11-13-11, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shmoges

Didn't know you guys had a newt that looks exactly like the eastern newts we have in Minnesota. The darker one is a salamander I think not a newt, looks like its shedding too.

Its definately a newt mate... we dont have much to confuse it with here. Yes i removed what was stuck around its neck.

Lankyrob · 11-13-11, 12:49 PM

Nice to see some wild newts mate!! Used to have HUNDREDS in our garden as a kid but havent seen any for years now

Shmoges · 11-13-11, 01:00 PM

Yeah I was thinking that about the skin and also I used to have some alpine newts that do resemble the dark one except for the colors. I guess it looked bigger than the other in size and that was what made me think it was a sally. I'm jealous, there isn't crap for amphibs in Colorado :P

SnakeyJay · 11-13-11, 03:21 PM

Amphibians are all ive found so far... and a few interesting inverts. Hopefully next summer i can go field herping

**millertime89** · 11-14-11, 02:12 PM

nice finds, we had salamanders in the window wells at our old house when I was really young, but one year, they never came back. I was disappointed, they were fun to watch.

SnakeyJay · 11-14-11, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

nice finds, we had salamanders in the window wells at our old house when I was really young, but one year, they never came back. I was disappointed, they were fun to watch.

Awesome... id love to have any kind of wildlife close to home.