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RAUK - Archived Forum - 1st mating ball of 2008

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1st mating ball of 2008:

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Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 03 Apr 2008

Hi guys,

Spotted first mating ball fo the year today, 10am 14 deg C full sun, five members taking part at Holyfield Lake. Also viv looking very hungry by the folds in its skin


RobV
Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 03 Apr 2008
heres the hungry liz
RobV
arvensis
Senior Member
Joined: 15 Mar 2006
No. of posts: 445


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Posted: 09 Apr 2008
Its a bit on the early side isn't it??  A Grassie is the only reptile I haven't seen this year but I never do have much luck with finding them.

Mark

Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group.
Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 10 Apr 2008

Mark hi,

Well, I'm hoping that the sudden turn to cold again hasn't killed the group in the photo. I mean thursday, tee shirt weather, then snow on the sunday, its mad. This has been the strangest March/April that I can remember.

Rob


RobV
AGILIS
Senior Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2007
No. of posts: 694


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Posted: 12 Apr 2008
Great pics Rob all I can see at moment is sloworms more than usual  weird Keith
   LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID
Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 12 Apr 2008

hey Keith,

thanks mate. You know what? I saw another pair of grasssies mating today and it was bloody freezing in the wind. Amazing and weird indeed. It was that cold that my lens became very stiff in manual op - no exageration. Slow worms are worth seeing though, I haven't caught sight of one of those this year.

Rob


RobV
Suzi
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
No. of posts: 860


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Posted: 12 Apr 2008

Rob,

What sort of terrain do you see all these grassies in? I rarely see grass snakes except under tins.


Suz
Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 13 Apr 2008

Suz,

Its difficult to quantify really. Like you said in another post somewhere about the new forest, they turn up in the most surprising of places, but if I had to point to one common feature in all, its mainly where its difficult to get to. Somewhere where the average dog walker is not going to go - and lets face it, theres not many of those places is there. i remember I was waliking through EF once and was going through heavy wooded area just so that I could get to another more open site at Connaught Waters, when I saw a solitary fallen log in a sun trap between trees covered in old bracken and moss and some grass and a single holly bush and a rabbits burrow beneath the log. As I went to walk past it, there were eight grass snakes in a ball!

How they all got there and found each other is anyones guess ( I suupose their scent does carry a bit! lol), so get off the beaten track and mind your shins, those bloody brambles are murder!

Rob


RobV
Suzi
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
No. of posts: 860


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Posted: 13 Apr 2008
Yes off the beaten track. When my brother is here we are all over the place looking for snakes but we still don't have much luck with grass snakes. Hope this is a better year for us.
Suz
Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 13 Apr 2008

 

Suz,

if you see one slide off, remember where you saw it, walk off and keep searching, but then come back to the exact same place in an hour or two, but creep in from a different direction. Try and keep the breeze so it comes over the place where you saw it before it blows to you. As you probably know they have an amazing sense of smell, but you can fool them.

I get scratched up a lot and I don't get close up shots, but, I get near enough to see whats going on.


RobV
Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 06 May 2008

hey,

I dopped into the mendips over the weekend, look what I found - not

R


RobV
Paul Ford
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
No. of posts: 124


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Posted: 07 May 2008

Rob,

What are you trying to say exactly?

Paul


armata
Forum Specialist
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
No. of posts: 928


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Posted: 07 May 2008
Is it because she is thin and may have laid eggs already?
'I get my kicks on Route 62'
Paul Ford
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
No. of posts: 124


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Posted: 07 May 2008

[QUOTE=armata]Is it because she is thin and may have laid eggs already?[/QUOTE]

Maybe she was one that mated in the autumn...?


Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 07 May 2008

Tony,

hardly likely I'm afraid. the reason she is thin (well spotted by the way) is that this wasn't the mendips (bit of a dig there0, it was the Reptilliary nr lyndhurst on the A35. I asked the keepers to stock the pond with fish as it was looking so emaciated and obviously not eaten for a while!

Paul, I suppose what I'm saying is that the photo above was taken with a canon ixus compact 2.3 megapixel camera without zoom facility (the sort you'd take to the beach on your hols) and I think you'll probably agree I could have passed it off as a "wild" shot, when in fact it's a captive snake. You'll also probably agree that given that fact, you can see why i would think there are others on here produced the same way?

cheers


RobV
Robert V
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
No. of posts: 717


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Posted: 07 May 2008

 

Tony,

by the way, female slowie x 2 below the tin nearest the gate, and the lizard in the commons section dropped into a picnic, which we had to abandon because of those MASSIVE ants! Man, they can bite! Lol

 

Rob


RobV
armata
Forum Specialist
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
No. of posts: 928


View other posts by armata
Posted: 07 May 2008
Hi Robert

Johannes and I visited the NF Reptiliary (I think it looks like the RSPB have taken it over!!). Saw a few baby berus and nice melanistic male. It was a pretty cool day, and we had just partaken of some 'refreshment' at the Snakecatcher Pub in Brockenhurst

If that GS refuses to feed why does not Andrew or whoever is there now release it.?
'I get my kicks on Route 62'
Paul Ford
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
No. of posts: 124


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Posted: 08 May 2008

Rob,

Your little digs are becoming a bit tiresome. I though you had accepted that the pictures posted are genuine?

If you are just pointing out how photographs can be faked then fair enough but if you are still keen to debate this I suggest you start a new thread so then other forum members who are not interested in our bickering can ignore it and concentrate on posts that add value.

Paul


mibes
Member
Joined: 22 Mar 2008
No. of posts: 27


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Posted: 08 May 2008
Hello Robert,
Just out of interest which pictures on this forum do you think are not genuine and why?
Why do you think anybody would be dishonest when there is nothing to gain?
More Galleries at my site..
Time in motion
Paul Ford
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
No. of posts: 124


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Posted: 08 May 2008

Rob,

If you want to persue this don't forget to start a new thread!

Paul

 

 


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