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RAUK - Archived Forum - The Mendips 12/04/2007

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The Mendips 12/04/2007:

Author	Message
Paul Ford Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2006 No. of posts: 124 View other posts by Paul Ford	Posted: 12 Apr 2007 Met up with St Rick today and we went to the Mendips. We didn't have a bad day really, between us we saw; 12 grassies, lost count of the adders (probably over 20!) saw a black one and saw them dance too, 5 slow worms and quite a few lizards. Here's a picture of Rick with the biggest grassie of the day: As you can see somebody has been eating well!!!

Paul Ford Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2006 No. of posts: 124 View other posts by Paul Ford	Posted: 12 Apr 2007 Here's a couple more photos

st rick Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 141 View other posts by st rick	Posted: 12 Apr 2007 Hey, cool shades! Who is that dude?

John Newton Senior Member Joined: 19 May 2005 No. of posts: 151 View other posts by John Newton	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 Hi Paul Did you get anywhere near Priddy (caves etc) - large numbers of adders there, never seen grassies though ! John John Newton South Yorkshire ARG

st rick Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 141 View other posts by st rick	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 John, If I can butt in... We had the opposite experience. We saw no adders at all in Priddy, only Grass Snakes, in the Mineries area. rick

John Newton Senior Member Joined: 19 May 2005 No. of posts: 151 View other posts by John Newton	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 Hi Rick Thats astonishing, cos when I spent some time there, early 70's adders were very abundant, especially near our campsite - I will PM you a marked up map over the weekend, to try and be a bit more specific. Never saw grass snakes there, although did come across them nearer to Cheddar (and adders too). Either way, pretty impressive weekend - might be worth checking with the local ARG/council to see if the site is already a Local Wildlife Site candidate - if not, sounds like it should be ! John Newton South Yorkshire ARG

Paul Ford Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2006 No. of posts: 124 View other posts by Paul Ford	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 Hi John, I have been going to Priddy for many years. Usually see a lot more adders than Grass snakes though and it's certainly not as good as it used to be (possibly due to constant stream of Joe Public). We saw two there at approx 5 pm (we didn't get there until after 4pm) and both were larger than all the others we had seen throughout the day. Paul

arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 Guys, If you are doing a return trip somewhen and I have the day of, any chance of joining you? Cheers, Mark Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group.

Paul Ford Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2006 No. of posts: 124 View other posts by Paul Ford	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 [QUOTE=arvensis]Guys, If you are doing a return trip somewhen and I have the day of, any chance of joining you? Cheers, Mark [/QUOTE] Hi Mark, Next time I go I'll give you a shout! Don't know if Rick will be around though - he was down in Bristol this week but lives in London...... Paul

herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts by herpetologic2	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 Collate your counts for MTAC (Make the Adder Count)! Sounds like an ideal site for this project Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife

st rick Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 141 View other posts by st rick	Posted: 13 Apr 2007 John, I was a little disenguous telling you we saw only Grass Snakes in Priddy as, while this was the case, we did not arrive 'til well after 4.00 having had such a good day spotting the 20 adders at the other site. I'm sure it's a great spot for adders too. I will look forward to your PM on other adder sites in the area. The site seems reasonably well protected and is close to the main Mendips Information Centre. In fact, we were lucky enough to meet the ranger/warden chappie who was showing around his new boss in charge of all the wildlife facilities in Somerset. just at that moment about 15 sheep had broken through in the fence into the reserve and were munching away happily. We pointed out to the ranger that manygood reptile sites were destroyed by over-grazing and he agreed and said he'd call the farmer right away and have them removed. It was a good opportunity to advocate for the reptiles in the presence of authority! Mark, You would be more than welcome to join us in the mendips. I will be spending quite a bit of time in Bristol over the next few weeks as I am tarting a house up for sale and am only really working PT at the moment. When we discover the first Somerset Smooth Snakes, you can be sure to catch them! Can you make a week day? st rick39185.8371412037

John Newton Senior Member Joined: 19 May 2005 No. of posts: 151 View other posts by John Newton	Posted: 14 Apr 2007 Crikey, did'nt realise there was a Mendip's Information Centre now - I guess everywhere has one though! Is this connected with the Shepton Mallet Caving Club hut, the Mineries?? It certainly looks as if your arrival there was well timed, and hopefully avoided negative grazing impacts on the site. Anyway, looks like it would be worth a trip down that way, albeit a somewhat circuitous route from Sheffield to Dorset John Newton South Yorkshire ARG

armata Forum Specialist Joined: 05 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 928 View other posts by armata	Posted: 14 Apr 2007 Paul, Whats the erosion (human) like at Stockill now, this has been a major casue of decline; wipin gout one subpopulation of adders. 'I get my kicks on Route 62'

st rick Senior Member Joined: 26 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 141 View other posts by st rick	Posted: 14 Apr 2007 Hi Tony What is the method by which the males locate the females for mating? When Paul and I were observing them in the Mendips the males seemed fairly usesless at finding them, even though we could see them laying out in the open in plain view. I suppose the chaotic behaviour that the males make clear at this time of the year is also a way of patrolling territory and challenging other males, not purely female searching? We also witnessed a male Adder trying to mate with a surprised Grass Snake. Is this common? The female adder that Paul has posted a picture of was laying slightly away from the main group and seemed very placid and inactive. She was also completely undisturbed by the males. Had she mated already, or was she just not ready to breed or simply overlooked? Thanks.

Paul Ford Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2006 No. of posts: 124 View other posts by Paul Ford	Posted: 14 Apr 2007 [QUOTE=armata]Paul, Whats the erosion (human) like at Stockill now, this has been a major casue of decline; wipin gout one subpopulation of adders.[/QUOTE] Tony, as I said in my PM we saw the Stockhill site by accident really so went for a quick look around there at about 5:30. This is the first time I have been there so can't really comment on how this has eroded I'm afraid. It did look like a popular track for ramblers though.... Paul

- The Mendips 12/04/2007

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