One of my occasional & very pleasurable activities at this time of the year is to check what's going on after dark in my big pond. My little residents are the Smooth Newts in the pond. It is a real treat to have good numbers in the pond & I will never tire of watching them: albeit I only look quickly to avoid disturbing them. One or two are often visible during the day & it's easier to watch them in the daytime. The numbers that are visible vary night to night, but my peak on 12 on 8 Apr 20, is close to be best single night count of 14. However, in late Summer 2011, I had to drain the pond to replace the liner & caught 22 over a couple of days: they were safely transferred to my small front garden pond.
Smooth Newt: Male. This individual has a wavy crest along the length of the body & tail. Males only develop this during the breeding season, so sexing individuals without this crest isn't easy (20 Jun 10)
Check tomorrow to see the next day's wildlife sighting at #BWKM0.