Froglog posts news of new amphibian reserve in Colombia

Froglog is the Newsletter of the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group.The latest edition contains fascinating reports about amphibian status in sites from regions as diverse as Colombia, the Amazon Rainforest and Nigeria. Problems associated with the Chytrid fungus and the trade in amphibian species are also discussed.

The latest edition can be downloaded from www.amphibians.org

The Frog Chorus

Ponds and gardens across Surrey have been the scene of increased nocturnal activity with the arrival of warmer, wetter nights. Female common frogs (Rana temporaria) have been spawning in large numbers, accompanied by the croaking of solitary males looking for a mate.

If you have frog spawn in your Surrey garden, then please let me know! (don't forget to mention your postcode).

Email: steve@surrey-arg.org.uk

New Tins

This weekend...I have been mostly...cutting tins.



Money raised by SARG has been used to buy corrugated iron, which is cut into tins and used for reptile survey. Reptiles (particularly snakes and slow worms) bask under refugia (tins), as they cannot see the sky and feel safe from their main predators (birds). The tins warm up in the sun and allow the reptiles to gain the warmth they need to regulate their body temperature.

Reptile survey can be as simple as lifting tins to see which reptiles are underneath.

These new tins will be used to survey 40 hectares of Frensham Common, for which we have very little idea of reptile distribution. Frensham is one of our key sites in Surrey, supporting all six species of native reptiles. This site will be used for an MSc study to determine how to improve reptile survey methods.

More Reptiles.

And today a Smooth snake and Slow worm were seen together under the same tin. Lucky for the Slow worm that the Smooth snake was a juvenile, else he would have made a tempting spring meal!
(Photo: Danial Winchester)

2009 Reptile Season Has Started!

With the welcome warmth of last weekend, some of Surrey's reptile species decided to make an appearance.

Both Common lizards and Adders were seen on the county's heathlands.

This small male adder is tightly coiled to prevent heat loss (photo: Mary Campling).

Toad Tunnel Video

With the help of the Surrey Dormouse Group, SARG have placed a motion-detection camera inside one of the county's toad tunnels. These tunnels protect the amphibians where their annual migration paths to breeding ponds cross busy roads.

It turns out that it's not just toads which use the tunnel, but also rodents and even birds!

You can see some of the video clips here: YouTube Videos. Or click on the video below.

Reptile Path

Pupils from six Poole schools paved the coastal cliff-top path in Pinecliff Gardens, Poole, with a donation of CEMEX Readypave block paving, making it accessible by wheelchair users.

Each school took a section of the 120m path and decorated with a design representing British reptiles.

The schools could select the colour of block paving they required to enhance their designs which were supplied through Keyline's Poole branch.

These included charcoal, red, wheatmeal, Autumn Hue and Burnt Ember to provide the backdrop to designs including 'snake amongst flowers' and 'lizards'.

Re: Tortoise survives being buried under 50 tons of rubbish

 

 

Fred the tortoise was found in a landfill site 20-miles away from home after being

accidentally thrown out with the rubbish Photo: KENT NEWS & PICTURES

 

Fred, the 30-year-old family pet, was recovering after he sneaked into a bin liner looking for somewhere to hibernate.

His owner Jane Deslandes picked up the rubbish sack and left it out for binmen - sending Fred on a 20-mile journey in the back of a dust cart from the family home in Margate to the landfill site at Canterbury, Kent.

Mrs Deslandes, a mother-of-six, 55, said: "It was absolutely horrendous when we realised what had happened - I knew what had happened straight away because we put the bags out in the garden before collection day.

"And it's the time of year when he's looking for nice warm places to hibernate.

"But we panicked because we didn't know where the rubbish goes so we had to phone the council to find out."

Mrs Deslandes was then given special permission by her local council to trawl through waste at the landfill site - 20 miles away.

She was issued with a high-visibility jacket by workers and embarked on a painstaking three hour search - to no avail.

She said: "We were devastated - we tried for ages but just couldn't find him.

"Eventually we had to give up and go home - I cried all the way back."

But landfill site bosses, desperate to help Mrs Deslandes, who works as a carer, continued the hunt for the tiny creature.

Finally they found him underneath a stack of smelly household waste - just minutes before the day's rubbish was due to be BURIED.

Fred - who lives on a strict diet of lettuce leaves, tomatoes and vegetables - is now munching away on his favourite food in his back garden following his discovery on Wednesday last week.

Jane added: "We were overjoyed - words can't describe how happy we were.

"We arranged straight away to go and pick him up.

"He was a bit dishevelled looking and had a couple of chips on his shell.

"But otherwise he was okay.

"We took him to the vet and they gave him a vitamin injection - they said it was a miracle."

Tortoises traditionally begin hibernating in October but it is thought Fred sought shelter early because of this year's miserable English summer.

Sand lizard hatchlings are appearing

The Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is our rarest native lizard, and has disappeared from many of the Surrey heathlands due to unsuitable habitat management.

To help the species recover, the HCT co-ordinate a captive breeding programme, releasing hatchlings back into the wild at sites where habitat management has made the heath suitable, and will continue to be managed sympathetically.

These releases continue, annually, over a three year period. After this there should be sufficient mature animals to contine to breed naturally, with more maturing each year.

Last weekend, wild-born hatchlings were found at one of these release sites, confirming the success of this conservation approach. The hatchlings dig themselves out of sandy burrows at the end of August, after hatching from their leathery eggs. They are around two inches (2.5cm) from head to tail...and so cute!

Monday, 4 August 2008

World's Smallest Snake Discovered

The world's smallest species of snake, as thin as a spaghetti noodle and small enough to rest comfortably on a U.S. quarter, has been identified on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The species, with adults averaging just under four inches in length, was discovered by Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State. They list the discovery in the journal Zootaxa.

Hedges found the new snake -- a type of threadsnake -- in a tiny forest fragment on the eastern side of Barbados. He believes the species is rare because most of its potential habitat has been replaced by buildings and farms. "Habitat destruction is a major threat to biodiversity throughout the world," he said. "The Caribbean is particularly vulnerable because it contains an unusually high percentage of endangered species and, because these animals live on islands, they have nowhere to go when they lose their habitat."