RAUK - Archived Forum - Grass Snake breeding sites

Reading Lee's Natterjacks in Cumbria thread set me on a bit of a nostalgia trip as I used to live there (now in Devon).

On the country estate where I lived (west shore of Lake Windermere) the piles of sawdust at the sawmill were a breeding site for grass snakes.

Fast forward to another country estate in Dorset where I lived next and yet again the sawmill a popular breeding site for grass snakes. They were loathed by the estate workers who killed them in a horrible way I won't mention here. 

Nationwide how many sawmills in the past would be prime sites for breeding? The above mentioned sawmills are long gone.

Mick,

I am a keen adder spotter and have a lovely site in Northants where I am almost guaranteed to see at least one snake every visit. I've been living on the mainland (used to live in N.Ireland) now for 5 years, and in all that time I've yet to see a grass snake. I don't expect you to give away a habitat, but would you have any advice on the ideal type of site, time of day etc to spot a grass snake. They are definately a lot more elusive that adders!

Thanks. 

I have found the grass snake to be the most exciting to survey for especially the large ones - your heart pounds when you spot one - and in most cases I do not catch them as they are too fast!

Breeding sites are very important for grass snakes - I know that John Baker has been creating egg laying sites for grass snakes in Suffolk and over recent days have found balls of newly hatched snakes.

He has also been incubating eggs indoors - these were rescued from a large compost heap - they are hatching out nicely and are going back to where they were found.

The more we encourage land owners to create large composting heaps the better - as many of these have gone in the countryside

This was within a large garden compost heap! I am planning to create some grass snake egg laying sites this winter at my favourite reptile site

Jon, that's an amazing Grass snakes pic', a real corker! 

darrentshaw. I wonder if the place in Northants you're talking of might be Rammamere Heath nature reserve? I've driven to that lovely place & quite thoroughly explored it a couple of times a few years ago. There's certainly a fair few Adders there, although i wouldn't say the population of them is exactly numerous. I actually only spotted one there myself, a gorgeously marked female, & i reckon i heard one, or two others making their getaways from out of my sight. There's Common lizards, Common toads, Common frogs, probably newts & just maybe Slow-worms all there, too, & i'd be willing to bet Grass snakes as well. I'd look for Grass snakes more, or less as you do for Adders,..extremely stealthily! I tend to most often have better luck with spotting Grass snakes in & around the vicinities of lakes (especially woodland ones) & fishing ponds. Not always, but i generally find they're never usually too far from water of some sort. Frog &/or toad breeding sites can be good, maybe especially if there's also fish there to add to the snakes menu. But as i've said, you've gotta be seriously stealthy at creeping up on these sensitive guys. I'd tread like a cat if i were you! Patience & stealth are the key words, & clothing that blends in wouldn't go amiss either (& i try to keep my pink wavering arms down behind my back, too!). You'll spot some, eventually. Doesn't appear to me to be any shortage of them here in north Oxfordshire. Wish we had Adders as well though, ya lucky fella!

Mick. My spot is actually the edge of a field beside a lay-by on the A43. I've also seen a slow worm there, a few common lizards and a Roesel's bush cricket. I have been told that around Thrapston lakes there are plenty of grass snakes but usually there are lots of walkers about with dogs that probably scares them off. I think you might be right about Oxfordshire. My mate has just moved there and saw one in Banbury! I'll have to pay him a visit. Check the adder photo section soon, I'll post some of my pics. 

darrentshaw. Your site sounds brilliant & i wouldn't mind knowing more precisely where it is myself for the next time i might be along the A43. Are we talking near Stamford maybe? If you wanna keep your knowledge low key then you could contact me personally via this sites private messenger, unless - with respect - you don't wanna divulge at all. Anyway i hope you report all you've seen at your field site to your countys wildlife species recording scheme. I can't believe the continuing spread rate of Roesel's Bush-Crickets, (orthoptera happen to be my other main wildlife interest) i've only just discovered they've well & truely arrived here in Banbury as well, along with Long-Winged Conehead Bush-Crickets, which i actually first recorded here last year. As for Adders here in Oxfordshire i think they're mainly just in the south of our county, but yeh, in my opinion we've still got plenty of Grass snakes, fortunately. Some Adder pic's from your site would be great by the way. Looking at a map & all the large water bodies alongside the River Nene i'd say yeh, Thrapston looks promising enough to start your Grass snake search, but check with your county wildlife trust & other local wildlife groups who should be able to help you best. And i wouldn't let anglers, or folk out walking their dogs put you off because plenty of that goes on at the thriving Grass snake colony near to me which i survey each year, & the Grass snakes there don't appear affected by such activities, they of course just stay alert for anyone getting too close to their basking spot, or where they're slithering along, or swimming. To see them you've usually got to kind of play them at their own game, & that means stealthily so. Unlike most of our other reptiles that'll normally retreat from a very warm sun Grass snakes tend to carry on basking in the heat, albeit quite often semi-shaded though. And if you ever feel like briefly handling a Grass snake to very closely study for a few moments then wear latex gloves (my missus is a care assistant, so i'm sorted for those!) as Grass snakes - as gorgeous as they are - can pong to high heaven!, & that's before they''ll often then crap on ya, too, & that's even pongier! There's also a fair chance that if handled (or even just cornered) their other defence trick of feigning death might come into play. All the best.     

Suzi

The larger the better - I would imagine that more stable temperatures would be achieved in larger heaps - brash and wood chippings actually heats itself with the decomposition

I know a forest worker who chipped aload of birch and other trees which was still green and he said that the pile of wood chips was jumped on by large grass snakes (not literally) they were all over it within a matter of months. This pile was very high and was located in a timber yard - after a year or so the grass snakes disappeared - possibly because the heat had gone - they found empty egg shells

that is the key also the piles need to be replenished every so often

JC 

Thanks for your reply. Reason I ask is I was snooping along a verge in a country lane on Bank Hol Monday looking for signs of dormice and through some trees I could see two very large heaps of vegetation. I said grass and flowers but of course I don't know what was underneath. This was dead (yellowed) but I'm not sure how much sun it would've caught under trees but possibly some from its position. I do think though that it has been left deliberately by RSPB who manage the site. Not sure if the temp the heaps would generate by decompostion without direct sun would be OK for incubating the eggs.

Surprise this morning when I checked out the nursery compost heap for slow worms in my garden and found a young grass snake nestled in with adult, juvenile and newborn slow worms. I guess the grass snake was a last year's young from the size.