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2016 in Amphibians

Grantham EcologyLeave a comment

Ecological consultancy work gives lots of opportunities to get up close and personal with reptiles and amphibians. One of our roles is to help our clients develop receptor sites, containing ponds, refuges, hibernacula and terrestrial habitat prior to site clearance. We then capture the reptiles or amphibians from the development site and move them to their new habitat to ensure that the populations can survive and grow into the future.

These are a few photographs of amphibians taken during 2016.

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Toads are not protected by the same legislation as great crested newts, but we always take the opportunity to move them to safety. I love how characterful toads can be, especially when you take their portrait!
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Translocating a number of animals at the same time lets you appreciate how variable they are. These are all portraits of smooth newts but the variation in colour is quite significant. To some extent this reflects gender and age, but also the natural variation which characterises any population of animal.
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A selection of toad portraits – these are one of my favourite animals and I wanted to try to capture them in such a way that you can appreciate the individuality of each and every one. The eyes of a toad are always surprising – the rich golden, reddish colour is quite beautiful if you get down to their level to appreciate it!
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A great crested newt from the translocation – these have much darker skin than the smooth newts as well as a much rougher texture. These animals spend much of their lives on land foraging for invertebrates during the summer or hibernating in a safe sheltered place during the winter. In the springtime however, all of the adults return to their ponds to breed.
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Palmate newts are relatively infrequent in the UK and certainly not common near to me. We went away for a few days around Easter and I nipped out to look in the ornamental pond behind our cottage at night to find a good population by torchlight. This male is showing off the distinctive back feet which help to identify this handsome creature from the superficially similar smooth newt.
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Three juvenile amphibians from a translocation check – from left to right is a great crested newt, a smooth newt and a toad. These were all released into their new receptor site where there are refugia and habitat to allow them to develop on into adults and help to sustain the population into the future.

If you are interested in commissioning amphibian surveys in the midlands, you can check out Landscape Science Consultancy’s website here!

Bonfires and Wildlife

Grantham Ecology1 Comment

Where we see a bonfire, wildlife tends to see a home.

In the lead-up to November 5th, lots of people will be building bonfires. Many people have now got the message that hedgehogs may take up residence in these piles, but many other less obtrusive species will also be drawn to them such as reptiles, amphibians and small mammals.
Creating brash piles and log piles is one of the key ways we look to enhance a site for a range of native species. During the cold winter months, our native reptiles and amphibians often seek out places such as this to hibernate until spring, unfortunately just at the time when people are creating bonfires. Many species will see these wood piles as a potential home, unawares that they are crawling into a wicker man which will soon be put to the torch.

The only way you can be sure that you are not endangering the wider range of wildlife who may take up residence in a bonfire, not just the hedgehogs, is to make it just before you light it. This might mean piling the logs and wood nearby in preparation, and then moving them to build the bonfire on the 5th November.