Buckets of newts

A newt in the bucket is worth two in the drain – a new motto for you!

Two beautiful toads on their way to the pond – although a little surprised at the mode of transport

although they don’t jump like frogs, toads still have quite long back legs.

Smooth newts are tiny – 7-11 cm long

Over the last couple of weeks, volunteers from the London Wildlife Trust and CHAS have been involved in helping smooth newts on their annual migration to breed.  The newts are moving from their hibernation spots to the large ponds in Chiswick Business Park, which involves a long and hazardous journey across two car parks and up lots of kerbs and steps.  Drains provide an additional danger, as it’s very difficult for the newts to climb out once they’ve fallen in (the drains are pretty deep and newts only have little legs).

So each evening, from about 7pm, volunteers have been patrolling the car parks next to the railway line wearing London Wildlife Trust hi-vis tabards, equipped with torches, nets and buckets.  If you see some characters on their knees peering into a drain with a torch, that’s us!

So far, we’ve collected over 300 newts plus 9 toads, mainly from the drains.  Releasing them into the ponds is lovely.  The newts hang suspended in the water for a short while, then they’re off – swimming in a rippling motion powered by their tails, all four legs stretched long their sides.  Hopefully, they’ll succeed in creating a new generation for us all to enjoy.

Smooth (or common) newts are the most common newt in the UK.  If you’d like to attract them to your garden, the best thing to do is put in a pond (without fish, as they will eat the eggs & tadpoles) and a pile of logs for the newts to hibernate under.

For more information about newts, see here