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Herps from above: |
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Sue Young Krag Committee Joined: 07 Apr 2004 No. of posts: 9  View other posts by Sue Young |
Posted: 21 Oct 2004 What is the likelihood of a bird dropping a slow worm onto a site which otherwise has no reptiles? Background: A site was surveyed pretty well to my mind - 10 days in good conditions, (dates & temps given), good refugia cover, no herps....except 1 dead slow worm in the open (but within reasonanle herp habitat). It's assumed that a bird might have left it there. Call me cynical but... |
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Caleb Forum Coordinator Joined: 17 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 448  View other posts by Caleb |
Posted: 22 Oct 2004 I once found a juvenile adder dead on a road through close-cropped sheep pasture. I also thought that it might have been dropped by a bird, but I did wonder whether it could have got there by itself (I've seen adders about 2km from this point). If I was in your position, I'd certainly try to survey the site again for slowworm. |
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calumma Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 351 View other posts by calumma |
Posted: 22 Oct 2004 Slow-worms can be very patchy in their distribution. It is quite possible that no (or very few) slow-worms are present within the survey area but extant in adjacent habitat (that may include parts of the site that were not surveyed). It is very unusual for sites in SE England to not support any herps. Email me privately and I will tell you the likelihood of slow-worm being present at your site. I do often find dead slow-worm. However, they are just as likely to have been brought in by a cat or fox than by bird. Slow-worms predated by mammals are often somewhat chewed though...! Lee Brady Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090  View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 22 Oct 2004 I would consider a corpse a sign of likely presence at any given site. *Most* corpses of herps I've found have been close to or within an area where the species was abundant. Though not impossible that a slow-worm could be dropped by a predator or mutilated by a human and left at the site, probability would suggest it originated from not too far away. More than once I've seen no shows of slow-worms under refugia for a considerable time, only to find they start to use cover boards. Perhaps due to a break in a long spell of dry weather or other factors. So I would also suggest that the site should be re-surveyed. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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