Country diary: a dead newt marks the end of the line

Marshwood Vale, Dorset: 'Askers', great crested newts, used to be common here but the number of suitable breeding pools has more than halved It's the yellow that catches my eye. Bright egg-yolk splotched with black warts, glistening against wet asphalt. Long, striped toes. A forearm flung out, fingers drooping, thumb hanging down, elegant as a lady offering her hand for a kiss. A great crested newt, Triturus cristatus, squashed. The pattern of pulping suggests a big, ridged tyre, probably a tractor. The driver would never have seen it in the dark, perched up high on his plastic seat, roaring up the lane to feed the heifers, one last job before turning in. Continue reading...