4
AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE NOTES FOR 1985
Of all members of this group, the Great
Crested Newt must surely be the most
mysterious, both in its habitats and way
of life. It is said to prefer large
open waters, but I have found the animal
occurring in small pools as well. In
April we held a very successful pond dipping
meeting at Aubrey Buxton Reserve, and having
netted the larger ponds we found Crested
Newts in a very small, muddy, crater-like
pool which was literally the last place we
expected to find them. The same experience
was had in Epping Forest; here Crested
Newts were found in large numbers in small,
dark ponds and craters almost devoid of water
weed and which appeared quite unsuitable.
In the mid nineteen fifties I did a study of
these newts in Lords Bushes Ponds at Buckhurst
Hill and found that the best location was a
very deep gravel pit pond which was dark, due
to a cover of Duck Weed. Here also the Newts
loved to take cover in floating car tyres and
sometimes one could find seven or eight in
one tyre during the breeding season. Another
recently found site is a moated farmhouse at
Abbess Roding. Here the cellar of the house
contains large numbers of juvenile newts
which crawl about over the damp brick floor.
Outside, in the recently cleaned out moat, the
adults are numerous in the clear water, and
in May can be seen easily rising to the
surface to breathe, and egg laying in the
water weeds.
From the records in Essex, the Crested Newt
appears very adaptable and inhabits a wide
variety of ponds: the only exception seems
to be smaller garden ponds. New records