Young country diary: Here are the latest newts reports! | Bea

South London: Ever since they left our pond last autumn I've dedicated my life to amphibians. Now I'm waiting for them to come backI'm sitting at the edge of the little pond in my garden, which is starting to show spring flowers, and there are buds appearing on our pear tree. I'm staring at the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of my newts.I didn't always know all about newts. One day I was having a walk in the countryside when I came across a giant log. I turned it over and underneath there were some strange, small, brown lizards. My mum told me they were newts, and that was the start of my love for amphibians and my obsession with nature. We dug a pond in our garden, and some common newts started living there. I was overjoyed! And when the female started sitting on a water plant in the pond, I knew she was laying eggs. Later on, I saw a small, lizard-looking thing with gills in the pond. My dad told me in an excited way that it was a a newt larva (eft). I loved them so much that every day I went outside to see them, in the sunshine or in the rain. Continue reading...