Pondwatch JE

What is Pondwatch JE? - Spot wildlife in your pond and share your sightings to help pond conservation! 

Why ponds? - Jersey has three native amphibian species, and a host of other wildlife for which ponds are a vital habitat for them to survive. 

Join in! Level 1 – spend 30 minutes looking for wildlife in your pond and send us your sightings here

Want to get more involved? 

Level 2 – Survey your pond 5 times between January and May. Search using a visual search, netting and night time torch surveys. To join you need to attend a training half day. Please contact wildaboutjersey@gov.je to find out when the next training session is. 

What if I don't have a pond of my own? - Please contract wildaboutjersey@gov.je be allocated a pond. 

Resources - Here you will find: survey forms, survey guides, ID guides, species fact sheets, health and safety information and more. Jersey Amphibian and Reptile Group (JARG) website.

Jersey’s amphibians

The western toad (Bufo spinosus), known locally as the crapaud, is found throughout the island and breeds in both semi-natural water bodies and garden ponds. Rather than the spawn clumps laid by frogs, they lay strings of spawn.

The agile frog (Rana dalmatina) is Jersey’s rarest amphibian, occurring in only a few ponds in the southwest of the island after almost going extinct in the 1980’s. It is now part of a long-term recovery project which is steadily helping the population.

The palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus) is Jersey’s only newt species. It is found in garden ponds and other water bodies, but is under-recorded. Its eggs are harder to spot than those of frogs and toads, as they lay them singly folded in the leaves of pond plants.

If you currently do not have time to commit to carrying out these surveys please record any sighting you have and add a casual record.

PondWatch Partners: Jersey Biodiversity Centre, Government of Jersey, Jersey Amphibian and Reptile Group (JARG), Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC). 

History: 

Pondwatch JE is the successor to both the National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme (NARRS) which ran in Jersey from 2007 to 2018 and Toadwatch which ran from 2005 to 2018. During this time volunteers provided a great deal of information which has been used to inform the design of Pondwatch as well as influence efforts to protect the species.