The mainstay of my photographic endeavours of late have been the newts, which are getting ready for the breeding season. Newts are primarily nocturnal, and while most of the year they are relatively drab in colour this changes at this time of year. The males develop small crests and black spots, while their underside develops an orange tinge. The females also develop an orange tinge underneath and slightly less distinctive dark blotches.
The pond itself is just one of those glass fibre pre-fabricated affairs. It's quite small: about 10 feet at its longest point, and 4 feet at the widest, but generally just a couple of feet wide. The foxes just step over it when they go past. It's clogged with pond weed, and there's a deep layer of leaf matter on the bottom. At its deepest its maybe 2-3 feet, but mostly it's quite shallow. It does well though, and in addition to the newts supports a healthy frog population, plus a smaller number of toads (rarely seen).
As for the foxes… we've heard plenty of noise over the past few nights. Much of it has been very close, but getting to see any foxes has been rather more difficult. The vixen with the 'nicked' ear has been venturing in, but tends to keep her distance. No sign of the dog fox. 
The shy vixen tonight
Camera note: all shots taken with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro lens.
Vulpes vulpes
22 Jan 2008Lovely pics, Words. Reminds me of "pet" newts I had as a kid – a short stay for them, as they rightly escaped their make-shift pond! It looks like the shy vixen is experimenting with the cat's cradle! 😉
Flying Red Fox Blog
22 Jan 2008Wow the Frog pic is excellent:yes: I think Pond life is the only thing possible at the moment with the weather, probably the wettest January on record. Its sunny today with a bright full moon today:D
Words
22 Jan 2008Vulpes, thanks! Your comment about 'pet' newts reminded me that I haven't seen sticklebacks in I've no idea how long. Something from my childhood!
Words
22 Jan 2008Mark, thanks. I liked the way the water was rippling slightly. And please let there be blue skies today!
Ukwildlife
22 Jan 2008Nice pics. STILL havent checked to see if the newts in my pond are active
Vulpes vulpes
22 Jan 2008…ah yes, Sticklebacks. Very true! I also recall catching some of those and rehoming them in my gran's pond (deep and pondweed galore)…never to be seen again! :rolleyes:
SittingFox
22 Jan 2008Interesting post. If I ever get to see any newts here again, I will understand them better! :up: I rescued a frog from a country lane the other night but haven't noticed any in the pond.
Also interesting that your dogfox is absent; both of mine have became very elusive, ever since the SV paid a brief visit in midweek. I had to set the trail cam to get to see any garden foxes at all, which is most unusual. Even then, it was only One-Eye rushing past in some great hurry. Of course, they don't like this kind of weather either.
CedarFox
22 Jan 2008Nice post :up: Reminds me of spring when the frogs start appearing.
Words
23 Jan 2008Vulpes, I remember catching them, but have no idea what we did with them :confused:
Words
23 Jan 2008Eric, spring? Yes. 🙂 They just seem to have forgotten about winter this year.
Words
23 Jan 2008Adele, the frogs are intermittent at the moment, but I'm expecting breeding to start fairly soon. We had spawn in February last year. As for the foxes, we had two in the garden last night but they shot off as soon as they saw me. It the nicked-ear vixen plus one other. She paused a moment before heading off through the fence, followed by a flash of orange flying across the garden to join her. Later on I saw a third fox in the street, trotting down the road.
Words
23 Jan 2008Neil, I'm sure there will be activity at night if you look. You really should check 😉
Ukwildlife
23 Jan 2008I had a look last nite with no luck. Waht time in the night do you look?
Words
23 Jan 2008Oops… more or less any time after dark. They quieten down late on (midnight and beyond), but I just checked a couple of minutes ago and there were several. You have to hunt around for them, and they dive for cover sometimes, but with a strong torch you should catch sight if they're around.