UKC

A but random, but does anyone know when mice (or similar animal) would leave their nests? I came across one on our allotment in a pile of stuff I wanted to take to the tip.

It also had what may be a great crested newt next to it, which went into the nest when I uncovered it but popped back out for a photo.

I can leave the stuff all there for now, but at some point I’ll need to clear it. Any advice on when it might be okay to move would be welcomed.

Do you really need to clear up the area as having a great crested newt is pretty special and they a protected species -

What you must not do

Things that would cause you to break the law include:

capturing, killing, disturbing or injuring great crested newts deliberately

damaging or destroying a breeding or resting place

obstructing access to their resting or sheltering places (deliberately or by not taking enough care)

possessing, selling, controlling or transporting live or dead newts, or parts of them

taking great crested newt eggs

Link to the above - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/great-crested-newts-protection-surveys-and-lice....

Dave

Can you tell if it is great crested from the photo?

I knew about the protection which was also part of the reason for asking. It’s in a pile of rusty metal and plastic which ideally we need to clear before next year’s growing season (when our child will be moving around).

It is all stuff I dug out in the autumn but got too wet to take to the tip at the time. Which also means it’s in a really unhelpful spot.

I think there is a healthy population of Newts on the allotments, but I hadn’t seen one myself until yesterday.

Just unsure how to proceed. Its only a meter away from lots of cover (compost heaps, cover under pallets, lots of undergrowth etc.) I assume it has gone there due to the materials capturing more mosisture.

That is definitely a great crested newt.  Their skin has a warty appearance whereas the smaller palmate and common newts are smoother (hence smooth newt is an alternative name for the common newt).

The photos in the respective Wikipedia articles show the difference well.

Great crested newt on Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_crested_newt

Common newt on Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_newt

Palmate newt on WIki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmate_newt

Really want one for our allotment, development and eviction is threatened, and that would really put a spanner in the works. At the moment we're having to make do with slow worms.

The new pond in horseshoe is teaming with newts well done to the persons who created it.

Martin W is right. Clearly a great crested. Only the males have the crest and only during breeding season. Take a look at: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/02/british-newt-id/

They're more common than unicorns or finding rocking horse sh1t, but it's a close thing... they're pretty rare.

OP,  see link https://naturescalendar.woodlandtrust.org.uk/?_gl=1*29d4uv*_ga*MTg4NzIyMzYw...  to record your sighting 

I have logged it 👍🏻

If I wanted to move the rubbish that it was under at some point, how would I know if or when it is okay to move it? The rubbish/scrap will become a risk to our kid next year due to its location.

It looks like there would be plenty more undergrowth and cover next to where I saw it.

When they took 3 years to make some of the M60 "smart" 🤣🤣🤣, they had to do a lot of GC Newt protection stuff.

Also, IIRC, at Harborough Rocks, the patch between the factory and the road is (or at least was) a GCN site.

I suggest you contact your local authority for advice. There are licences that allow GCNs to be moved but they seems(as far as my cursory glance has seen) to apply more to developers and ecologists.

Link - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/great-crested-newt-licences

Dave

some reasonable advice here…

https://earthtrust.org.uk/great-crested-newts-at-earth-trust/#:~:text=A%20s....

Our senior ranger, Tim explains: “Our woodland work creates a lot of habitat piles of stacked brash, ideal for newts to hibernate in. To keep them safe and undisturbed, we stack timber that will be removed on ‘bearers’ which keep it off the ground and discourage newts from hibernating there so that they are not disrupted when we remove it. When this isn’t possible we remove the timber in late spring early, summer once the weather is nice and warm and the newts are back in the ponds.

“It’s amazing where they can turn up. I once found one whilst replacing the fence on the top of Round Hill, not sure why it had gone up there but we relocated it to a log pile a little closer to one of our suitable ponds.”