Why look for amphibians?

There are five native amphibian species in Yorkshire - common frog (Rana temporaria), common toad (Bufo bufo), smooth newt (Triturus vulgaris), palmate newt (Triturus helveticus) and great crested newt (Triturus cristatus). These are all thought to be in decline nationally due to a number of factors including loss of breeding ponds and surrounding habitat, isolation of amphibian populations, introduction of fish (which eat the larvae) and pollution.

As a result the great crested newt has received a high level of legal protection and therefore requires appropriate consideration within site management plans and development proposals.

Common frog

• dark patch behind each eye
• smooth, moist skin
• long back legs
• varied colouration

common frog © James Mortimer

Common toad

• no dark patch behind eye
• dry bumpy skin
• tendancy to walk rather than jump

common toad © James Mortimer

Great crested newt

• about 6 inches long
• dark colour above, orange and black below
• male has crest and silver stripe on tail in breeding season

great crested newt © Jon Traill

To enable us to determine the current status of amphibians and protect them locally, we need to know where they are. NEYEDC has an on-going commitment to organise surveys to help improve our knowledge of amphibian distribution.

York Pond Survey 2003

In Spring 2003 NEYEDC, in cooperation with BTCV, organised a survey of ponds in the York District. This included recruiting and training volunteers, consultation with landowners and evening survey work.

checking newt traps © Jon Traill

Ponds were digitised using MapInfo GIS, revealing that there are over 1000 within the York District. There were not enough resources to enable all of the ponds to be looked at in 2003. Each pond was photographed during a day-time visit, then revisited at night to look for amphibians.

Ponds in York © NEYEDC, 2003

Pond at Strensall © James Mortimer

Other surveys

NEYEDC has organised amphibian training sessions for Harrogate Borough Council and Hull City Council in March/ April 2004. The data from these surveys will be incorporated into our database in order to highlight the presence of great crested newts and other amphibians. 

If you see any amphibians, we would very much like to hear about it. Please fill in the species recording form or contact NEYEDC. 

Copyright(c) 2004 North & East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre. All rights reserved.
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