First amphibian arrival
The annual ritual of spotting the first newt returning to our pond for the breeding season was a little later than average this year. The first amphibian, a smooth newt, came in with the heavy rain last night and has a somewhat unusually shallow pond this autumn. Dry weather has meant that there are still only a few centimetres of water in the bottom of the pond and dry ground has probably limited the opportunities for newts to migrate back.