RAUK - Archived Forum - Posts by Chris Rose:

One newt larva, all four legs fully developed and gills very small, seen 7 p.m. today (7/4/06) and earlier yesterday afternoon in quite open positions in a fairly shaded, black butyl-lined pond on my allotment site in NW Bristol. Presume overwintered in larval state. No sign of any adults in this pond, in which the water is crystal-clear, or this-season eggs. Several newt larvae seen in this pond in June 2005. Could have come in as eggs on the introduced water plants - Ceratophyllum, Elodea and Callitriche. Or they could be 'native' to the site. I found 1 adult newt on my neighbouring plot many years ago.Yesterday (6/4/06) found 2 adult female and one two-thirds-sized adult male Palmate newts in other ponds at the far end of the site. Will endeavour to see if any Smooth Newts about.

Two sub 1 year Slow Worms seen on my allotment site in Bristol on 14th January 2007. 

One at 14.05 on the surface of south-facing slope to a pile of dead vegetation, but under thin (circa 2mm) carpet overlying the same, and presumably engaging in thigmothermy, since it was partly coiled up. Quite damp under the carpet, and some moisture on the surface of the animal.

A second was found at 16.05 on the next door plot, under a thin piece of carpet lying on a flat terrace in the south-facing slope. May have been foraging since the soil underneath was bare and there didn't seem enough immediate protection from the cold.

I obtained the following data for this date from the internet site of an amateur weather station located a couple of miles away:

Maximum temperature: 8.9 degrees C at 13.13
(Minimum 2.9 degrees C at 08.37)
Soil temperature at 5 cm deep 7.8 degrees C
Humidity 87%

That's obviously a general picture of 'local' conditions, but I wasn't carrying around the kit to take relevant on-site micro-habitat readings .....