I am pleased to see my Great-crested Newts are back in my pond again this Spring for their third year. I didn't see the first until early Apr. However, the pond was overrun with Canadian Pond Weed & I didn't removed most of it until early Apr. At that point, it was possible to get a better view into the pond & I quickly started seeing them. Therefore, they were probably lurking out of sight below the vegetation. So far I have see two males & a female, which compares to three males & two females from last year. Sadly, there is no evidence that they successfully bred last year, but I will keep looking. Only one photo, so far this year: this gorgeous female.
Great-crested Newt: Female
For comparison, here is one of last year's males which have a distinctive jagged crest.
Great-crested Newt: Male from last year for comparison (18 Apr 14)