Nice shot. Love to see a real close-up of the encounter. Googled 'red eft newt' and it turns out to be highly poisonous at that stage of its life.
BEHAVIOR
In its juvenile stage, which lasts one to four years, the eastern newt acquires a vivid red coloration, is highly toxic, and is called a
red eft. This newt has the most complex and variable life history of any amphibian. It typically goes through four stages: egg, aquatic larva,
eft, and terrestrial adult, returning annually to water to breed. There is much variation in this basic pattern, however, from one part of the range to another. Some populations have no eft stage. In other populations, some adults enter water at maturity but then do not leave. In other populations, some adults are never terrestrial but are
paedomorphic. Adult eastern newts are only mildly toxic in comparison with red efts. When attacked, adults exhibit the unken reflex whereby they twist themselves into a circle to expose a bright yellow belly. Paedomorphosis is widespread in this species, in which the red and black markings take the form of stripes.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
The eastern newt feeds on a variety of small invertebrates and on frog tadpoles.
