It's February and while spring is still off on the horizon, the darkest days are behind us.
One of my favorite sights during this month (that goes on till April) is the emergence and mating display of the smooth newt.
It takes a bit of effort to see this phenomenon and you need to know the right location, but find a pond with these amphibians in, go there at night with a powerful torch and you can observe the elegance of these creatures when under water.
The males grow a crest for the occasion and shake their bright spotted tails to impress the females. I saw a smooth newt this weekend so the mild weather might mean the party has already started!
They aren't distracted by the light of the torch but are sensitive to vibrations so try not to disturb the water if you visit this aquatic ballet.
The credit for this great picture goes to Ray Kennedy from rspb-images.com. Why not treat your eyes to a perusal of our image archive today?