Written by Eve Goddard, Transforming Lives Trainee
Gills in, venture out!
As August hits, our newt larvae, which have been aquatic until now, absorb their gills and head out onto land to begin the next stage of life as an eft or ‘newtlet’.
Their diet will change from chydorids, daphniids and cyclopoid copepods (that’s water fleas and tiny crustaceans to you and me!) to terrestrial invertebrates such as worms and slugs.
They will take shelter under warm, damp logs, stones and paving slabs.
The weather will play a big part in their success at this stage. If it has been too hot and seasonal ponds have dried early, larvae may not have developed enough to leave the ponds and will perish.
However, the annual drying of seasonal ponds provides an advantage for our newt friends long term, as whilst adults can remain on land, aquatic predators such as fish will be predated and ducks will move on.
Hop into Summer!
August falls into the period when froglets and toadlets will absorb their tails and leave the pond for the
first time to reach dry land. They will often leave en masse as there’s safety in numbers!
The young will be around 1cm long and will shelter around ponds and damp areas trying to keep cool in the summer heat. Being largely nocturnal, they will be active at night and avoid daytime temperatures. They feed on small flies, insects and worms.
Reptile Egg-stravaganza!
August is the time when UK reptiles begin to be born.
Grass snakes begin to hatch from their eggs. The eggs will have been laid in rotting vegetation where neonates (hatchlings) can keep warm before they are ready to explore. Neonates are adept swimmers and will feed on small fish and amphibians.
Common lizards incubate their eggs internally (known as ‘ovoviviparity’) and will now give birth to up to 11 young. The young can be predated by birds and domestic cats. Their secret defence is shedding their still-moving tail in the case of an attack.
Juvenile common lizards love the August sunshine and will be found in open dry, sunny spaces with dense cover nearby.
Summer is arriving! As June has the greatest number of daylight hours during the year and is often one of the warmer months, this can be an enticing time for reptiles.
Potentially as early as January in the South East of England, and up to April in other areas of the UK, the common frog will emerge from their winter hideouts and head back to a pond. Male frogs will ‘piggy back’ on their chosen female using their nuptial pads to hold on tightly. This is a process known as ‘amplexus’. He will then fertilise her spawn as she lays it. Common frog eggs are laid in clumps, with up to 2,000 eggs laid in one single clump. Female frogs can lay up to 4,000 eggs over one breeding season.
Common toads will ritually return to the same pond for breeding each year where possible. They take advantage of warmer, damp spring evenings to leave their overwintering sites and return to their specific pond. This behaviour makes them notorious for crossing roads over night and putting themselves at risk of being run over. Our 
Once the warmer weather of spring hits, newts too will venture back to a suitable pond to breed and lay eggs. Males of each newt species will perform elaborate ‘dances’ to attract the attention of females, who will choose which male gets to fertilise their eggs. Newt eggs are laid in a very different way to toads and frogs. A female newt will lay each egg individually, she will lay the egg on the leaf of an aquatic plant and carefully fold the leaf around the egg to protect it, giving the leaf a very straight edge where it has been folded over. Newts lay less eggs than their toad and frog counterparts, but females will still lay hundreds over the season.