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Archives for 2023

The Life Cycle of a Newt

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Written by Ellia Cobb, Transforming a Lives Trainee

During early spring, when the weather starts to warm up male newts display a courtship dance to the females where he will fan, whip, and wave his tail to attract the female. If he is successful, the female will allow him to fertilize her eggs and begin laying them. Each egg is laid individually on the underside of a leaf on the surface of a pond, the leaf is then folded over the egg to protect it. The eggs take 2-3 weeks to fully develop and hatch into larvae.

Great crested newt egg folded inside a leaf

The newt larvae will stay in the pond until they have developed and undergone metamorphosis, during which the larvae will develop legs and lungs which allow them to breathe and live on land. Before this stage the larvae have feathered external gills like those of an axolotl which are then absorbed during metamorphosis. Once this is complete, they will leave the water to live terrestrially. At this stage they are juveniles.

On land, juveniles will hunt for insects, worms and slugs and spend most of their time hidden in warm, damp places (underneath logs, rocks, and scrub) during the summer. From October the newts will brumate (taking advantage of warmer winter days to forage), they don’t reach sexual maturity until 2-4 years old and can live a few more years once matured.

Once the newts are mature and the weather starts to warm up again, during early spring, the newts will take to the pond in search of a mate to then continue the cycle all over again. 

Recycle Week

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Written By Chloe Davey, Transforming Lives Trainee

As we enter September we become more aware of the changes that Autumn brings. Colourful leaves will fall to the ground as our animal friends will be busy preparing for Winter. It’s important to be aware that many critters will start collecting and storing food, however there may be items that they come across that can be harmful: bottles, cans, you name it! Many people forget to recycle their items once they’ve finished using them so, between the 19th and 25th of this month, Recycle Week encourages recycling for wildlife and the general health of our planet.

Did you know that recycling has been encouraged for many years, it was especially prominent during the late 1700’s with the construction of railroads and infrastructure. As we move along in time, the concern for recycling seems to have slowly dwindled. Thankfully, in 2015, Recycle Week was created in hopes of increasing people’s awareness of the importance of recycling. Recycling has an enormous impact on protecting our environment to make it a better, healthier place to live. This includes saving millions of trees, water, energy and other natural resources.

There are also many ways you can participate and help support others in recycling too. It is important to know what can be recycled, this would include: newspapers, magazines, aluminium cans, cardboard boxes and plastic bottles. Depending on where you live, green/blue bins are the designated bins specifically made for recyclable objects, you may even have one or two at home. Social media is also such a powerful tool to help inspire and influence others. You can post pictures or videos of yourself recycling with your friends and family, or if you are a little camera shy, you can post facts about the importance and benefits of recycling instead.

To quote Dr. Seuss’ Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

 

What our animals are doing this month…

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September is an exciting month for sand lizards. Females laid their eggs in May and June which they buried in the warm sand. These eggs have been incubating throughout the summer, and now they are ready to hatch!

Young sand lizards do not receive parental care, but they can be spotted hunting for invertebrates in pairs or small groups of fellow juveniles. They will feed up as much as possible during September and October before hibernating. Unfortunately the tiny juveniles can be vulnerable to predation from adult male sand lizards as well as a number of other predators including birds, mammals and reptiles.

Females will sometimes lay a second clutch later in the summer, and given the rate of global warming, we may well see this behaviour increase. Individuals that hatch later in the year may also hibernate later; this is because they need to spend as much time feeding as possible before hibernating to improve their chances of surviving their first winter.

Remember to record any reptile, amphibian or egg sightings to our FREE Dragon Finder App. 

As the name suggests, sand lizards occupy sandy heathland habitats where females bury their eggs in sand to keep them warm. Look out for juvenile sand lizards emerging throughout September!

Nature charities call on political leaders to increase ambition on environment.

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You can read the open letter here.

A coalition of leading nature conservation and environmental charities has called on Scotland’s political leaders to work together with increased ambition in the face of growing crises of climate and nature.

The call, directed at the leaders of all five political parties, was made in an open letter ahead of an environmental roundtable with the First Minister.

The charities have warned the party leaders against rolling back on their existing commitments or attempting to exploit the environmental crises for short-term electoral purposes.

The intervention comes following a summer extreme weather globally, heightening concerns over the immediate impact of the environmental crises.

The open letter warns that “The impacts of climate change and nature loss are increasingly visible in our lives” and says that “we are deeply concerned that our political leaders are not responding to the intertwined nature and climate crises with the urgency required”.

The charities have highlighted the need for ambitious legal targets for nature restoration and a well-resourced Biodiversity Strategy as crucial in reversing nature loss. Reforms to agriculture and forestry funding, marine protection, and reducing resource use are also key areas where progress must be made in this parliamentary term.

The letter states: “The status quo is not sustainable. Yet we have seen key environmental commitments shelved or delayed, and increasing signals that differing views on environmental policy will be exploited for electoral purposes or treated as disposable.

“All parties committed to strengthening environmental protection and restoration at the last Scottish election. Scotland – as a wealthy country, as an early industrialiser and as one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world – has a moral obligation to show leadership.

“There are opportunities in this parliament to deliver meaningful progress. We call on you all to reaffirm your commitment to the health of our planet – our life support system – by working together to rapidly support measures to reduce emissions in line with statutory targets agreed by this parliament, and halt and reverse nature loss.”

The signatories to the letter have a combined supporter base of more than 500,000.

The Importance of wildlife ponds in gardens

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Written by Ellia Cobb: Transforming Lives Trainee

There has been a 50% decline in pond habitats in the UK over the past century, with 80% of those remaining being classified as either in ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ condition. We can all do our bit to tackle this problem.

Wildlife ponds are amazing for wildlife, having a pond in your garden or greenspace is highly beneficial to all kinds of different species such as frogs, toads, newts and invertebrates. They provide a safe place for amphibians to feed, lay their spawn and raise their young as well as providing drinking and bathing water for other wildlife in the process. 

Ponds don’t have to be perfect! Creating a pond can be a simple and fun activity and will add to the two thirds of support that garden ponds provide freshwater species already. 

An effective way to create a pond suitable for amphibians and other species is to dig out and line your own, ensuring it is deep enough and sloped to allow wildlife to get in and out. It is important that the pond isn’t one depth and has shallow areas for amphibians to rest and deeper areas for hibernation. Ranges in depth are also great for planting a variety of vegetation. Planting different floating, marginal emergent and oxygenating plants will help your pond thrive and provide hiding places and egg-laying sites.

It is a good idea to use a durable pond liner so that your pond lasts many years. Be patient with your pond as it can take some time for wildlife to find them. They will not need much maintenance once finished.

You can find loads of advice in our Just Add Water booklet and on our Wildlife at Home web page on how to build ponds. Remember to send in your photos to info@froglife.org so we can share them on social media!

The Dog (Swimming) Days Are Over 

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Written by Jade Walton: Transforming Lives Trainee

Here at Froglife we love our four-legged companions and know how important daily exercise is for our beloved dogs. While there is no harm in letting your dog swim in many different bodies of water, it is highly encouraged to steer them clear of ponds, especially during amphibian breeding season, and here are some reasons why: 

  • If you have used a spot-on flea or tick treatment on your dog, this can get into the pond water and possibly harm the invertebrate population of the pond. These invertebrates are a crucial part of the pond’s ecosystem and are a major food source for many amphibians. 
  • Dogs swimming in a pond can easily disrupt the mating behaviours of amphibians, making it less likely for the amphibians to use the pond as a breeding pond. 
  • If the pond has been used to breed, the arrival of an enthusiastic pup can damage any eggs or spawn that have been laid, or even harm any tadpoles or efts (baby newts) that may have hatched. 
  • Some ponds are artificial. This means pond liner may have been used to ensure water remains in the pond rather than soaking into the ground. If dogs are often running and jumping into a pond made with an artificial liner, this can damage and degrade the liner over time, likely causing the liner to rip and the pond to leak which cannot always be fixed. 

If your dog loves a swim, it’s best for them to stick to larger bodies of water, such as, lakes, rivers, or the sea. If they are a real water lover, it may be best to keep them on the lead when around ponds as we know how tempting a good old dip can be. 

You can find more information on this subject by visiting our #PawsAgainstPonds Campaign Page. 

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