Spring Pond Tour - California Newts

Following Beard’s lead, we have been visiting all the ponds we can think of.  Yesterday we struck gold, or sort of an ocher orange, the California Newt.  We made a special trip to the Yerba Buena Native Plant Nursery.  On the side of the demonstration garden is the redwood grove and the newt pond.  Since we have had a heat spell the pond was densely populated with newts.

As Seth approached the pond he kept shushing me, “shush I see a newt, shush I see a water skeeter, shush I spotted a squid.”  Well that was an unusual shushing.  Apparently banana slugs have to drink somewhere, and on a hot day there is no better cool spot than the damp banks of the newt pond.  Unfortunately one banana slug fell in an was mistaken for a squid by an over zealous naturalist making an educated guess.

Viewing the newts is nothing short of magical.  They float, squiggle their tails, and generally pay no heed to the personal space of their peers.  I have been here in the summer and seen piles of newts 15 high just basking in the marshy liquid escaping the dry world that surrounds them.

The underwater world is of endless fascination to children.  This little pond is particularly accessible because of it’s size and obvious inhabitants.  Larger ponds pose more of a challenge to the little boy attention span.  The water is often deeper and the inhabitants less easy to spot.  We tried larger ponds before this, but the nature of the pond was missed and the play of pirates became the focus.  This pond is an evident do not disturb habitat and can only be observed.  The lack of engagement led to negative interactions such as poking things with sticks and banana slug mayhem.  Our next pond visit will be one where the bucket and net don’t have to stay in the car.