RAUK - Archived Forum - Posts by ST24:

Hi all, first post after quite a llot of "looking over the fence" so to speak.

Chuffed to bits with finally finding 3 Adders in 3 different parts of the Chase - finally!

Patience rewarded. I'll keep an eye on these spots now..

Love the camouflage on these 2..

Just a few from a location near to Borth, on the mid Wales coast.

We (my daughters and I) have found slow worm and common lizard here too. I'll post pic of those in the respective forums.

Just a few from various places - mainly near Borth (2 found) and then a location near my caravan in mid Wales - 40 found, including this monster one, nearly 40cm...

All from Cors Caron reserve, on the doorstep of my caravan in mid Wales. A bumper year in '08, virtually tripping over them; not so good last year, even though the weather was overall similar - blú&dy awful!

Each Autumn I get a few newts in the kitchen - I really don't know how they get in ??!

These aren't in the kitchen...

Chuffed to find huge numbers in a large pond in the middle of a forest in (again!) mid Wales

We are fortunate to have GCN in our local pond. These were taken during a dip when we discovered them. They have now been recorded and logged with the local (Staffs) wildlife Trust. I am now monitoring them by torch light.

Last week, in good weather-

Single one under tin with 2 adders at "my"  site near Borth, mid Wales.

One very small one + 2 adults in my "other" site  by my caravan near Tregaron, mid Wales. I counted 40 ish here last summer, as per my photos on other thread.

[QUOTE=armata]Is this site near the railway by any chance?[/QUOTE]

..."ish" - More the grandly titled "Animalarium"...

[QUOTE=Suzi]Just to say thanks for sharing all your lovely pix in the various sections.  [/QUOTE]

Thank you -very kind of you to say! Will endeavour to supply more from this year....

Really?! Thats fascinating, thanks for sharing that info- he hasn't moved far! Cors Caron is on the doorstep of my caravan I adore the place- though I can only recall seeing 3 Adder over 4 or so years, and very fleeting at that. As you know, it's Common lizard that hold the fascination there. Suprising no Grass Snake (yet?)

This is the latest Borth resident - known to you?? (taken last Saturday - 10th April)

[QUOTE=armata]There are no grass snakes at Cors Caron.
Yes the common lizards there are something - in late july hundreds of them on the boardwalk have to be careful; where you step.

I have marked about 120 adders at Cors Caron, along the railway but also on the area down to the river.
They hibernate under the sphagnum just a few cm above the water table.
Have a photo of the site in my new book just out 'Old World Vipers'.

Around about now or in the next week or so you should see shed skins all over the place.
Polecats prey regularly on adders there to.

Busy with dwarf Bitis here in Western Cape right now, getting some very good mark & recaptures.[/QUOTE]

Thanks very much for the info - I'll obviously have to keep a better eye out for the Adder down there. Best regards.

p.s. good luck with the Bitis - superb snakes!

Chuffed to bits at finally finding Grassies over my local haunt, though it took me until mid May. I must add these ae my first GS for 4 years or so, so you can understand my thrill. I was looking for a female Adder that had become  a bit of a regular but I hadn't seen her for a while in the usual basking spot. Whilst searching the area I was amazed to see a monster grassie in the area usually occupied by the Adder. it was late morning and very sunny and so it was off before I managed to get the camera out. It was perhaps co-incidental that I came across the Adder by chance leaving the area and was aware of a helluva lot of hissing and fuss and there she was- not only disturbed by me but it would appear evicted from her favoured spot by a snake twice her size. Is there much confrontation betwen the UK snake species??

Any way, days later and not having seen the GS, I came across this - all 85cm of it.

The biggie was not seen again, but, a few weeks later I found another, smaller one basking near a small pond that was rapidly drying out in that short bit of a Summer we had..

  Very happy!! Can't wait to get bak out there...

Rather than start a new thread, just thought I'd update this one. Didn't find any new ones, but kept tabs on these 2 throughout the year (see my Grass Snake thread) Good to see them slough, the remains stayed in the same spot well into September.Must get out there again soon..

Just updating my slowie pics from 2010. Nowere near the numbers we've seen before (in the village near my caravan in mid Wales) but at least 25 individuals seen, all shapes and sizes..

..to the "monster" being wrestled by my eldest, measured at 42cm long

This one had seen better days...