 |
|
|
Posts by herpetologic2: |
| Author | Message |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369  View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 01 Feb 2006
Topic: 2006 is comino to life!
I am in Eastleigh, Hants - the figure of 96 relates to the number of spawn clumps - the most frogs I have seen in the pond over the spring at any one time is approx 30 to 35 frogs (mostly males). I will keep people informed with the activity in the garden over the coming weeks - I plan to log water temperature and air temperatures with dataloggers - last years peak spawning occurred over the 16th to the 19th March - where peak daytime temps were hitting 18C Regards JC
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 07 Mar 2009
Topic: First of the year?
Nice stuff take note of the numbers for MTAC J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 08 Mar 2009
Topic: Blackwater Adders
Both males J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 08 Mar 2009
Topic: The toads are crossing roads in Wales
Where there is a means there is a way. Students - probably mostly nocturnal in their habits and perhaps ideally placed to carry out the necessary data collection. I am getting real Peter. People blindly collect toads from roads in Hampshire and dump them into the hedge closest to their assumed breeding site. It has become a habit to do this without any real collection of numbers. Yes I agree that collecting toads from roads is important but we do need to find ways of collecting data in a simple way (e.g. numbers of adults, females & males each year etc) for volunteers and possibly in a more detailed way on selected populations using students...... Quite obviously the point of collecting toads from roads is to attempt to lessen the effect of a lack of ability on the amphibians part to be able to adapt almost overnight in evolutionary terms with the sudden appearance (again in evolutionary terms) of the virtually insurmountable barrier of tarmac roads and the heavy traffic that they bring with them. I like this quote plenty of items there which need research. At my toad crossing I have looked at the situation around the crossing. After reviewing the data collected from the toad crossing in Alresford - Drove Lane it looks like the toads are not adapting well to the road and its apparent impact on toad numbers - the numbers have gone down from 1000's to a few dozen over a 10 year period. It looks like the road has killed off the population. however if you look a little further there are other factors which need to be considered. 1. Intensive salad farming has increased on the terrestrial side of the road - plenty of burning, ploughing and pesticide application. 2. Grass snakes on the water side of the road still manage to find plenty of baby toads around the breeding habitat 3. Suitable terrestrial habitat exists on the right side of the road - the area around the breeding habitat so the toads do not settle on the wrong side of the road (possibly?) 4. Very large toads still cross the road each year compared to another local crossing in Avington Park. I would suggest that the toads at Drove lane are older and still find suitable habitat to survive and are lucky in crossing the road. With lower numbers more you would assume would survive the crossing and so carry on the tradition of crossing the road while the new recruits do not cross the road (I speculate) Now this suggests possibly that the toad population has adapted to the road - they hole up on the right side of the road and so do not cross the road anymore because any toadlets that make their way across the road would not find suitable habitat. I would suggest that the road kill may not have been the driving force for the reduction in status (numbers) based on the numbers collected on the road. It is possibly the agricultural practices on the adjoining farm. I am intrigued by this situation and I am trying to get access to the toad breeding pond so I can confirm whether this still has large numbers of toads. Also the salad production of the farm is ceasing this year. I would like to put in place new habitats on the terrestrial habitat side of the road. At present the road collection is the only avenue to our volunteers to count the toads and provide a relative idea of whether toads are increasing at the site. I am pleased that support for toad crossings for SWWARG is ongoing and I hope that the data is collected. I have an uphill struggle in Hampshire as HARG do not want anything to do with toad crossings. I am trying to organise people and give them support with their toad patrols as a coordinator for Froglife through ARG UK. You have to go through health and safety issues and risk assessments for your volunteers to be covered under SWWARG insurance through ARG UK so why not explain the protocol for collecting data on toads during the migration season. Just an idea Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 08 Mar 2009
Topic: The toads are crossing roads in Wales
PS I hope to get students involved in looking at the situation at my two crossings I need all the help I can get collecting toads or setting fencing etc and surveying the breeding habitat J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 10 Mar 2009
Topic: The toads are crossing roads in Wales
[QUOTE=Baby Sue] Can I join in?!
á I never knew there was a problem sticking boy and
á BTW, Oldies?!
á [QUOTE=Mark_b] At the fast road (18:30 - 20:30) we
Toads total 49 (14 pairs, 15 singles, 6 heading back
WhatÆs a palmate?
á I ainÆt been looking for frogs and toads this season
You shouldn't really be doing this alone for health and safety. If you have more than one person then the two bucket method can be used while single people need to take what is suitable for them. If you are an ARG member and you are taking up the insurance from ARG UK then you need to carry out a risk assessment and we would prefer that more than one person is on a road at night with the usual safety gear - high vis etc J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 10 Mar 2009
Topic: Wall Lizard Survey Methodology
The status of the wall lizards on Jersey is not certain as a study is looking at the genetics of the populations which are heavily associated with large buildings on the Island etc Also the Wall Lizards are fully protected under Jersey State Law and any survey would require a survey license if significant disturbance is necessary. Wall lizards are easier to find generally - they like to bask on walls, rocky outcrops etc unlike the viviparous lizard and sand lizard etc Presence surveys would be multiple survey visits over non consecutive visits in the optimal time of year. The only method would be visual surveys of suitable basking areas. Absence - likely absence would be determined after 7 to 10 visits in optimal weather and time of year. Population estimates - possibly from the peak number of adults seen during the survey and then multiplying this figure by 10 and 20 - to give an estimate based on the peak count being 5 to 10% of the population. Mark recapture probably not practical and would need licensing. Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 12 Mar 2009
Topic: List of alien species in Essex
Hi Neil Yep many of these species are still around J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 12 Mar 2009
Topic: Reptile Survey of Mersea Island
Hi there I will be organising a herp survey on Mersea Island in April - I just wondered if anyone would like to help with this survey? More details to follow soon J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 30 Mar 2007
Topic: Adder Translocation
How can you be sure they were captive bred from the reptiliary - as I know that this facility is stocked from adders collected elsewhere in Hampshire - perhaps gravid females were placed within the reptiliary. Again it was regretable that this long distance translocation of 1 year old adders happened at all - as it was outside their range and the origins of the animals are not known. Adders have disappeared from places only to be found in suitable habitats etc which are not visited by people as often as before within very close proximity to originally known sites. Adders are elusive and avoid detection for many years in terms of normal site users - hence the percieved decline etc Were the young adders photographed prior to release in Bedfordshire? as how can the survival of the adders be determined? I suspect that moving young animals short distances would have the most likely success rather than adult animals which have established ranges.
Slippery any more info on your research project?
JC
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 05 Nov 2004
Topic: Tony Phelpsos article in British Wildlife
Well it may be based on the view that any works within an area where reptiles are known to exist - say a hibernation area (road verge, seawall etc) then that activity if found to kill or injure reptiles will be considered an offence - My personal thoughts is that the passage which Tony wrote should have read that snake hibernation areas (especially the adder) should have the same protection as badger setts and bat roosts. Lets face it the protection badgers have is related to persecution and it not related to their conservation status - they are quite well off being more 'common' than the red fox which is declining Adder are still being persecuted and one of the ways people do this is to raid hibernacula in the spring so there is a need to protect the species in this way - also the hibernation areas are being found to be an important part of the ecology of snakes and reptiles The adder needs more protection definitely!!!!
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 05 Nov 2004
Topic: Tony Phelpsos article in British Wildlife
Matt that is absolutely right but if works were carried out on a site where it was known to support reptiles and no attempt was made of reasonably avoiding the 'killing or injury' of reptiles ie a translocation, re timing of works, habitat manipulation prior to work etc and reptiles were found dead and injured then there is a case - It is often cited that reptile deaths as a result of habitat management, undertaken on SSSI's for instance, is an incidental result of a lawful activity..... but they seem to leave out that it had to be 'reasonably avoided' under the Wildlife and Countryside act - so if dead animals are found after grass cutting, scrub clearance and there was evidence that the contractors or their employers knew that reptiles were present then there is a case for a prosecution - I believe that this is currently being tested in court cases....we will have to wait and see
Jon
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 08 Nov 2004
Topic: Tony Phelpsos article in British Wildlife
Well this depends on whether the evidence is present and there is the will to prosecute from the police and CPS - quite often I hear the certain organisations are a law into themselves and these aren't powerful rich development companies if you know what I mean. Scrub clearance has occurred on sites in the control of the corporation and adders were killed - previously there was no attempt to discourage adders from the area to be disturbed and so the killing of even a single adder without an attempt to prevent them getting in the way is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act - lawful operation and reasonably avoided etc It becomes increasingly difficult when the wildlife organisations 'break the law' or carry out tasks without proper surveys and then expect the developers to spend thousands of pounds on mitigation before they build houses, roads etc The developers find out about different projects around the country and often cite them as a reason why they shouldn't waste money and time on mitigation - if it is okay for them then it is okay for us Wildlife organisations NGO's etc should set the example - we not talking about putting up expensive reptile fencing (well perhaps a little) we are talking about surveying sites prior to management works, using habitat manipulation to prevent reptiles from colonising clearance areas - highlighting important scrub patches which are used for basking, hibernation etc so the ecology of the animals are protected and of course monitoring afterwards Can it be done? J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 09 Nov 2004
Topic: Coastal adders and reptiles
Dear all I have recently recieved some interesting records of adders being spotted on small islands, and amongst salt marsh in the estuaries of Essex (thanx to EWT). We have several costal adder/reptile sites where they live on the seawalls and I am very interested to know if anyone else has any coastal populations of adders. Some of the best sightings have come from seawalls where the vegetation has been left undisturbed. An important issue in regards to these habitat restoration projects where the seawall is breached and the land is flooded with saltwater - Changes in the behaviour of male adders have been noted at the Abbotts Hall realignment project - over 2004 English Nature has commissioned a survey to look at the effects of the marsh restoration - adders are now basking on the drying mud left after each tide - its a good job that adders have been spotted swimming in the sea in this area as how else would these animals get to their summer grounds from the overwintering grounds (seawall).
Regards Jon
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 11 Nov 2004
Topic: Nadders, hibernacula and management
Dear Gemma I think I know the site you are talking about - I thought you should know that English nature Local team has been involved with the Proposed Heathland Restoration - The Heathland Restorers have brought up the issue of Crested Newts - The likely effect of the clear felled woodland and the scraping away of the bracken, earth etc has been suggested as not very beneficial to the newt population - so English Nature has suggested that a DEFRA license would be needed for the Heathland restoration (great!) this came as a shock to the Heathland restorers as they usually dont have to get these things called a 'DEFRA license' for habitat restorations - I bet they wished they hadn't mentioned the newts (who feels like a developer now eh?) Still there has been another complication the presence of Dormice in the woodland. This woodland is going to be cleared for the Heathland restoration well 'bare earth with lots of saplings and no bracken' restoration and so a second DEFRA license would be required. I have heard that the English Nature team has decided that the site isnt suitable for heathland restoration - either this will be scaled back or abandoned - in favour of woodland and pond management for newts and dormice - I would suggest that you send your report to the English Nature Local team - and the Conservation committee of the Heathland restorers -
Regards
Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 17 Jun 2005
Topic: Springwatch Grass snake release
Well thats seems to be better then - I just thought hang on this is Simon King telling me that moving grass snakes large distances is a good idea? It will be good to see how far the little critters move as they are a long way from home - the ones on the TV were over 2 years old and so may have already imprinted on their home range Looking forward to the results
JC
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 17 Jun 2005
Topic: Re: Epping Forest adder survey
Hi Danial Who is organisng the meeting? I was one of the surveyors last year. I would alos like to be informed of progress on this survey I did have a great time in Skiathos, Greece - I tried to find some snakes only one live sighting - but I did find a black grass snake (dead) and another which I have yet to identify (dead aswell) it was hay cutting time so the poor snakes got mangled. Will post some photos on the Euro page
Regards
Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 17 Jun 2005
Topic: Predation - is it possible?
A word of warning for all you felt tilers out there - Carrion Crows have been observed on a site ont he the Isle of Wight where felt and tin were being used for slowworm surveys - the bird surveyor watched a crow lift a felt tile corner and captured a slowworm and then flew off with it - I have also seen a fox systematically check tins, felts and carpet tiles on an airfield - We had removed them all during the day while we were looking for newts at night the fox was spotted moving between the places where the groups of tiles were placed. Some of the tiles were found flipped - we thought that it may have been strong winds - very strong winds as the tiles were quite large - it may just be mammals that the fox was after but if any lizards were under there in the early evening then they would have gone down the same hungry mouth - though if a crestie was found it would have taught the fox a lesson eh? JC Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 19 Jun 2005
Topic: Any tips for hot weather?
It will be very difficult to find adders in the middle of the day in the heat - and I normally find that most adders would not be under tins in very hot conditions - it may depend on the amount of dead thatch underneath. I have found a female adder once under a piece of tin in very hot conditions the majority of snakes on my sites do not use tins that much as there is plenty of habitat around them. Early morning and very late afternoon would be the best times to go out to spot adders - you would probably find pregnant females while the males etc would be in deep cover Regards JC
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
|
herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts in this topic |
Posted: 19 Jun 2005
Topic: DEFRA Licensing -
I am not sure if this news has been put on the Forum but I have a link to the DEFRA website which explains the situation around licensing and thankfully it ha snot gone to local authorities! http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/consult/habitats1/index.htm The results of the consultation http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/consult/habitats1/result-letter.pdf Please discuss as I am sure that many of you will
Cheers
JC Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
- Posts by herpetologic2 |
