Great crested newts quickly colonising new ponds
8th February 2021
Results of the first two years of monitoring of ponds newly created or restored by the Newt Conservation Partnership are now available.
The monitoring report is available to read here. Since the NatureSpace District Licensing scheme began in 2018, 112 clean water ponds have been created or restored (91 created and 21 restored) for great crested newts across the South Midlands and Gloucestershire. Of these, newts have been recorded in over a third of individual ponds (36%) and in nearly two thirds of sites (60%).
Many of these ponds are less than a year old, yet monitoring using both eDNA and traditional surveying methods (egg searches, bottle trapping, torching) suggests they are already benefiting great crested newts and other freshwater wildlife, including priority species like the common toad.
Newt Conservation Partnership webpage
