The field next to my house in Euxton is about to be developed for housing (that’s another story). Beyond the opposite corner of the field from my house is a pond that has a small population of Great Crested Newts in it. As part of the preparation works an exercise is ongoing to trap and collect any GC newts that might be in the field, with a view to transferring them to some new ponds that are to be built, again at the far side of the field. This has involved installing, last week, a network of newt fencing that breaks up the field into parcels and includes a newt fence alongside and about 5 metres outside my garden. I have never seen a GC newt in my garden, although I have plenty of smooth newts in my pond.
The week before, the hedgehog(s), that have always been in my garden, woke up and I started feeding them. I think, but am not certain, that they are based in the garden and I have large piles of vegetation, twigs etc, one of which I assume to be their home.
Since the newt fence was put in place the hedgehog(s) has/have disappeared. I can only assume that they are trapped on the far side of the newt fence.
Also the frogs returned to my garden pond last week after the fence was installed, but I think the number of frogs and the amount of frogspawn is way down on normal, again, I assume, because many of the frogs are stuck on the far side of the fence and have been trapped and carted off to pastures new.
However, my pond population of smooth newts looks much the same as usual.
And I should also say that, despite the current crisis, the newt traps have been regularly checked by the ecology contractors.
I don’t know whether or not they have found any GCNs but I hope my hedgehogs and frogs are ok.
The unintended consequences of good intentions
Discussion of sightings in and around the Chorley area.
Moderator: Neil Southworth
-
- Sparrowhawk
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:09 pm
- Location: Euxton
Jump to
- The Society
- ↳ News
- ↳ Field Trips
- ↳ Meetings
- ↳ Website News
- Natural History
- ↳ Recent Sightings
- ↳ Species recorded this year
- ↳ Archive
- ↳ Winter Visitors - First Dates
- ↳ Summer Visitors - First Dates
- ↳ Butterfly Species and other insects - First Dates
- ↳ Flowering Plants - First Dates
- ↳ Amphibians
- ↳ Out of Area Sightings
- ↳ Brockholes Nature Reserve
- ↳ General Topics
- ↳ Willow Tit Survey 2019/20
- Archives
- ↳ 2013 news items
- ↳ 2006 Submissions
- ↳ 2006 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2007 Submissions
- ↳ 2007 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2007 Summer Visitors - First Dates Submissions
- ↳ 2007 Butterfly First Date Submissions
- ↳ 2007 Flowering Plants First Date Submissions
- ↳ 2007 Winter Vistors- First dates
- ↳ 2008 Submissions
- ↳ 2008 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2008 Summer Visitors First Dates
- ↳ 2008 Butterfly First Date Submissions
- ↳ 2008 Winter Vistors- First dates
- ↳ 2009 Submissions
- ↳ 2009 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2009 Summer Visitors First Dates
- ↳ 2010 Submissions
- ↳ 2010 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2010 Flora Records First Dtaes 2009 &2010
- ↳ 2010 Summer Visitor First Dates
- ↳ 2011 Submissions
- ↳ 2011 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2011 Flora Submissions
- ↳ 2011 Summer Visitor First Dates
- ↳ 2012 Submissions
- ↳ 2012 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2012 Flora Submissions
- ↳ 2012 Summer Visitor First Dates
- ↳ 2013 Submissions
- ↳ 2013 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ 2014 Recent Sightings Submissions
- ↳ Talbot Mill Development