During the early half of this month, weather and ground conditions were wet. Heavy rain and the high levels of water combined with mild weather created miserable conditions. But, it provided the ideal conditions for amphibian wildlife to begin their springtime activity.

The amphibians we see at large today are descended from the first amphibians that emerged onto land 370 million years ago.

At this time the only other land living animals were invertebrates. These offered little competition to the early amphibians so over time they evolved into many shapes and sizes and colonised most terrestrial habitats.

Their total domination of the land ended with the evolution of reptiles 300 million years ago, as all amphibians share certain physical characteristics which impose some limitations on their behaviour.

All are cold blooded and are dependent on warm conditions to remain active. However, not relying on energy expensive internal heating like us mammals, amphibians have the advantage they can thrive in environments where there is very little available food.

Their main disadvantage though, is the need to return to the water to breed, lay eggs and for their young to develop before they turn into adults. Their skin is also more water permeable than other land vertebrates. These limitations have restricted today's amphibians to damp or very specialised habitats.

Today, there are more than 4,100 species of amphibians in the world, with 10 species living in Britain. Of these, only five can be found in this area.

What they lack in terms of different species though, they make up for in numbers. You only have to look at the thriving masses of breeding frogs at Blake Marsh Nature Reserve, or the vast numbers of toads that can be found in the wet woods and meadows at Redstone Marsh to get the idea of this.

Even away from the marshlands, the heathland pools are alive with amphibians. These seasonal pools at this time of year are teeming with newts. The amphibians are particularly noticeable at this time of year, as the first few milder days lure them out from their winter hibernation sites.

They then head for the pool of their birth, where they mate and lay their eggs.