When I went to feed the chickens in the old goat house this morning I found a newt in the water bowl.
A couple of weeks ago I found three frogs in the same bowl enjoying a threesome.
This was more surprising as frogs can jump - newts can't.
How did the newt get in the bowl?
The newt was a Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris, formerly Triturus vulgaris), common enough in Britain but not so common in chicken watering bowls. I believe it was a female by the dual, rather than single, line on the back.
Amazingly the chickens didn't eat it.
You can see in these photos that the bowl was too tall, too slippery and has an overhanging rim, so would be impossible for the newt to have climbed in.
In the photo below you can see the bowl in situ in the old goat house where some of the chickens live when it is very cold.
Above the bowl there is gap between the edge of the old goat house roof and the adjoining barn wall.
Water drips through there when it rains. Could a bird have dropped the newt on the roof and it fell through into the bowl.
Although the bowl is due for a clean it is refilled every morning with tap water fed from our main spring.
Just in case the chickens took a fancy to it I placed the newt at the side of the little stream that runs down the edge of the back garden. There are small pools along the stream so it should be happy in that new home. Hopefully it can find its soulmate there.
And this is the newt ROFL showing its orangey underside :
If anyone has any other ideas of how the newt got in the bowl do let me know...
You might also be interested in some of my other posts :
SteemRadio - schedule of all the steemit radio shows - week beginning 9 April 2018
My Life in 8 Songs [Thursday 5 April 2018] - @starkerz - interview & 8 songs
My Life in 8 Songs [Thursday 5 April 2018] - @allasyummyfood - interview & 8 songs
My Life in 8 Songs [Thursday 5 April 2018] - @anarcotech - interview & 8 songs
My Witnesses - time for a clearout & rebirth
The Steemit Name Challenge - @pennsif
Birmingham, Saturday 7 April 2018 - Meeting more steemians at SteemCampUK
My Garden, My Barn, My Books
MSP - My Life in 8 Songs - Thursday 5 April - Promo-Steem special with @allasyummyfood, @starkerz, @anarcotech
Five Ways to Fix the Witness System
Time for a Steem Springclean - part 1 - Follows, Discords and Witnesses
[ photos by @pennsif ]