Red efts, the juvenile terrestrial form of the Eastern Red-spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), are a forest floor constant during the summer in the Quabbin Reservoir…especially when the ground is wet. We finally have had a few storms come through the last couple of days, maybe another today, and that has helped moisten things up a bit. They’ve been quick hitters, but we’ll take what we can get. A nice day or two of prolonged rain would be best.
These little guys are hard to pass up.
Even with my tripod splayed out and the camera tilted to 90° on the ball head, I still was just a hair above eye level. As with frogs and toads, a slow approach at ground level allows for getting quite close. Here we are about 15″ away and pretty much as close as the 180 macro will allow.
The eft retains this coloring and terrestrial habit for a few years before maturing and returning to the ponds to reproduce.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
I’d love to see those scurry on the forest floor. Great color.
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Not much of a scurry, Jim. More like an amble…they don’t movie very fast which is very helpful for making images.
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Beautiful shot. Nicely done.
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Thanks, David. I am sure you should be able to find these in your woods. They seem to like hanging out on trails as well as under leaves.
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Steve, nice one! I’ve yet to photograph any newts. There’s always more to photograph and more to learn about. Are these fast moving and skittish as some lizards can be, or more slow moving? How muddy/dirty do you usually get when creating these sorts of shots? 🙂
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Thanks, Todd. Absolutely, nature is a never-ending learning curve…and sometimes a circle.
These particular newts are not very fast moving, although if they want to get away they do move fast enough, just not speedy on those short legs. I guess they are pretty confident with the coloring as they more often will hold still for long periods, especially when you get low. I get pretty dirty sometimes depending on where I am (wetlands or forest floor) and how recently it rained. That can make me a little self-conscious when I run the morning errands after a shoot. 🙂
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Aye-aye, Cap’n, to eye-to-eye success! And an extra dram o’ rum for this alert swabbie!
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Thanks for the chuckle, Gary.. 🙂
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The first time I saw one of these, I was just slightly put off. I don’t know if it was the color, or what — but I had an inclincation to go, “Ewwww….” Now? Not so much. In fact, this one seems rather cute. You may have answered this before, but what’s with the color? It seems as though he might as well be wearing a sign that says, “Here I am. Eat me!”
[Add: apparently that sign says “Don’t eat me, because I’m flavored with tetrodotoxin.”]
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You must have been having the proper response of a predator upon seeing the bright warning colors, Linda. Most of the bright orange and red creatures we see are colored that way as protection. Insects especially. The monarch is filled with toxins acquired from the larvae eating milkweed and the butterfly advertised such.
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How cute the newt. You’re deft with an eft.
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You and Gary both really cracked me up this morning, Steve.
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Cracking you up is one thing, but I hope we didn’t make you crackers.
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That, too.
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Your eft photo is deft…Did Steve beat me to it? Such an adorable creature.
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Oh rats, I see he did. He leapt adeptly into the cute newt fray!
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Yep, this couldn’t possibly slip by him.But I am glad it struck you too. Now there is one intended bit that no one commented upon. I really did think someone would respond. Maybe it will occur to you?
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Fantastic photo, Steve, and enjoyable descriptions.
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Thanks, Jet. They are fun to photograph although often one needs to scrape mud off yourself.
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