By George, it’s great crested newts!

Stephen Gill, Site Manager and dedicated fan of Harry Potter has found NEWTS on his site at St George’s Barracks in Bicester. These are not ‘Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests’ like those taken at Hogwarts, but newts of the ‘Great Crested’ variety.

It is thought that great crested newts have been resident at St George’s Barracks for the last ten years. Great crested newts are most active at night and dwell in ponds and ditches. Before construction could start, a team of ecologists had to observe newt behaviour by torchlight for two weeks. After finding newts in a pond adjacent to the site, newt fences were erected to prevent them entering the construction site.

Great crested newts are Britain’s largest newt species and can grow up to 15cm in length. They can be distinguished from other newt species by their dark brown or black skin which has a rough and warty appearance. Their bellies are yellow or orange with black patches and tiny white spots.  

Only males have a ‘great crest’ which runs along their back, dipping at the rear of the abdomen to a smoother-edged crest above and below the tail.  This is more pronounced during the breeding season. Females have a yellow-orange stripe along the lower edge of their tails.

As populations have declined over recent years newts are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Habitat Regulations Act of 1994. It is illegal to catch, possess or handle great crested newts without a licence and it is also illegal to cause them harm or death, or to disturb their habitat in any way.