Male Smooth Newt
The smooth newt has a crest that runs unbroken down the whole length of its body.
The best time to go out looking for amphibians is at night, when they're most active. Obviously if your chosen site has a pond that's a good place to start looking, although amphibians do spend a suprisingly large amount of time on land. If we're lucky and get a bit of rain, more of the resident amphibians should be out and about, take extra care to watch where you are putting your feet!
A torch will come in handy, particularly when searching ponds but avoid shining it in one place for too long. Also check under plants near the pond, carefully so as not to cause too much disturbance.
Most frogs have probably laid their eggs by late spring, those clumps of round jelly balls, in which the tadpoles develop, but they'll tend to hang around the ponds after breeding. Toads spend much more time on land, travelling to ponds in order to breed from March onwards, then leaving soon after to forage for food on dry land.
You may still see toads courting at the end of March, the much larger female usually having a male clinging tightly to her back. They lay their eggs in long transparent tubes tangled up in the pond vegetation which can be very difficult to spot.
Newts also spend quite a lot of time out of the water, although spring is their breeding season as well so a torch lit sweep of a pond is a good way to spot them. Newts lay eggs individually folded in submerged or floating leaves of water plants.
Great Crested Newts are protected by the law and it is illegal to handle or disturb them if you don't hold the appropriate licence. If you suspect you have Great Crested Newts please tell us at BRERC and we will make sure that your pond is checked by an expert.
Frogs and toads
Our two most familiar amphibians, the Common Frog and Common Toad, are similar in size and appearance but can be told apart quite easily by examining their skin.
Toad skin is covered in small bumps, giving a warty appearance and feels quite dry when the animal is on land. The skin is dull and varies in colour from grey to reddish brown.
Frog skin is smooth and moist. Frogs are highly variable in colour including shades of yellow, and red along with the more familiar greens and browns patterned with dark brown/black blotches on the back and legs with the hind legs being quite stripy.
In particular look for prominent dark triangular patches on both sides of the head, extending across the eye from the nostrils to the back of the head. Toads lack these eye patches, so this is probably the best feature to look for if you can get close enough.
Generally frogs have a more angular head and body shape than toads, and longer hind legs which enable them to make impressive leaps, especially when startled.
Toads tend to crawl but do hop as well, frogs move along by short jumps.
Newts
There are three species of newt native to Britain, any of which you may come across in your search. Our largest species, the Great Crested or Warty Newt, is the most easily distinguished. Adults can reach up to 17 cm in length although typical length is 11-13 cm, while the Smooth and Palmate Newts only grow to about 10 cm in length.
Out of the water the Great Crested appears black, and the granular texture of the skin can be seen, hence the common name 'warty newt'. In the water these newts can appear a much paler orange-brown and darker spots on the body can be more clearly seen. Tiny white spots speckle the sides, not seen in the other two species, and the vivid orange or yellow belly patterned with black blotches is also very distinctive. In the female a yellow-orange stripe also runs along the bottom edge of the tail. The impressive crest of this species only develops in the males, as part of their breeding attire. The crest running along the back has a untidy jagged appearance and dips at the base of the tail, the crest above and below the tail has a smoother edge. The males also develop a silvery white stripe on the sides of the tail which can flash in your torch light as they wave their tails in courtship displays.
Male Smooth NewtThe smooth newt has a crest that runs unbroken down the whole length of its body.
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Male Great Crested NewtThe great crested newt has a crest that 'dips' at the end of its body, then becomes more pronounced again on its tail. 
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The two smaller species, that is the Smooth Newt and the Palmate Newt, are much harder to tell apart particularly the young and females. Keep looking until you think have seen a male.
Adult male Smooth Newts develop a wavy crest along their back and tail during the breeding season, which doesn't dip at the tail base.
Male Palmate Newts don't develop a crest, only a low ridge. They can be told apart from the females by the threadlike filament that protrudes from the tip of the tail, a pale orange stripe on the sides of the tail and their webbed hind feet.
Please don't handle newts - apart from the fact that it is illegal in the case of Great Crested Newts - they have very delicate skin which is easily damaged.
Notes Emma Koblizek
Drawings Ben Marshall
Edited by Abigail Pedlow