Cycling this morning in the Lea Valley between a stream and a ditch (after the cattle creep at the bottom of Coppermill Lane), I stopped to rescue a worm wriggling at great pace towards the middle of the path. Then I saw a tiny newt on the path - about 3 inches long. It was almost dead, but I put it in the damp grass out of the way of passing cyclists to give it a chance.
When I was young I always missed the nature study class on newts, coming back to school after illness to see the pictures of them on the wall - infant school and 2 junior schools. I didn't see my first newt until I was adult, in the pond of a garden that was open, and I haven't seen once since until this morning.
I also saw a frog in my pond this morning. The woman with the 17/20/30 (depending on which neighbour one spoke to) cats has moved, so he has a chance. In previous years I often had 5 poking their heads out of the water. My pond is covered with duck weed which I don't try to get rid of, as it gives the frogs some protection from the cats until the (non) flowering rush has grown (and this year I didn't have much rush at all).
The duck weed used to be killed off in the winter and grow again in the spring. The lsst 2 winters though, it has reduced drastically but never completely disappeared.
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