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CUMBRIA'S
AMPHIBIANS If
you like to breed in water but also need to keep your skin moist
when on land, what better place could you find to live than
Cumbria!! Not surprisingly, all six native species of amphibian
thrive in the county. The
Common Frog is widespread, even
near the tops of mountains at over 800 metres. The
Common Toad is a little less hardy,
does not venture as high up the fells and prefers deeper water.
Its spawn is laid in strings two
or three weeks later than frog spawn. The Common Toad is well
known for its long distance hikes (in procession) to return
to its area of birth and there are many places where this has
occurred for generations (let me know if you are aware of any!).
Cumbria
has two of the largest colonies in England of the Natterjack
Toad at Drigg and Sandscale Haws - these form the subject
of a separate page ...see NATTERJACK
TOADS Newts
are possibly under-recorded in the county, as they generally
need some searching out. The Great-crested
Newt is a protected BAP Priority species that breeds
widely in the county. There are many breeding sites in the area
between Ambleside and Milnthorpe and along the length of the
Eden Valley, with more scattered places found on the north-west
coastal plain. Ideally they would like ponds without fish, but
increasingly seem to use garden ponds. Between April
and late June a search with a torch
at nighttime may yield a sighting - but REMEMBER it is
illegal to catch them or even disturb them. The
smaller (half size) Palmate Newt
is possibly the most abundant in the county as it prefers acidic
water - and there's plenty of that in the fells! The Smooth
Newt is also found in the county, sometimes even in the
same water body as the other two newt species!
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