Amphibian surveys

Use our Common Toad and Frog surveys to find out whether frogs or toads are present in a network of 1km grid squares in England and Wales.

The aim is to visit each pond in a 1km square in March or April, and see if frogs, toads or their spawn is present. An average sized pond will take around 45 min to survey, but longer if the pond is large.

A full Great Crested Newt survey requires experience in Great Crested Newt surveying, a survey licence (which can include an existing NARRS licence), and a time commitment to visit your ponds four times in spring, at night.

The aim is to visit each survey pond in your 1km square four times between April and May to see if Great Crested Newt are present. The survey statistics only need a record of Great Crested Newt presence or absence – not numbers – so as soon as Great Crested Newts are recorded; there is no further need to return to that pond.

An average sized pond will take around 1 hr to survey, but longer if the pond is large.

eDNA (environmental DNA) surveys for Great Crested Newts involve collecting a water sample from a pond, followed by analysis in a specialist lab. It’s a new and exciting way to find out if Great Crested Newts are using a pond, by seeing if their DNA is present.

This is an easy survey to undertake, and you can learn the skills needed from our resources. An average sized pond will take around half an hour to sample (longer if the pond is large), and an extra 30 mins to fill in the Pond Habitat Survey form.