Great Crested Newt Surveys

Great crested newts are protected, along with the habitat they utilise, which includes both terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

Surveys for great crested newts will first aim to identify whether the species is present, usually by carrying out surveys when the species has returned to ponds to breed in the spring. Where present, additional surveys may be required to accurately assess the population size present.

Great crested newt presence and absence surveys can be carried out either by carrying out physical surveys of ponds between mid-March and mid-June, or by collecting water samples from the ponds between mid-April and the end of June, which can then be sent off for eDNA analysis.

Once the presence of the species has been confirmed full population class surveys can only be carried out as physical surveys, requiring up to six surveys of ponds during the mid-March to mid-June season.