SARG NEWS - 22 October 2010

SARG NEWS - 22 October 2010

Every year, one of the south east amphibian and reptile groups hosts the regional meeting.
This year's meeting will be at Milton Keynes on 13th November 2010, hosted by Bucks ARG.

SARG will be showing a strong presence, providing one of the talks, and running one of the afternoon workshops.

These meetings are a great chance to catch up with the other groups, and for a good chin-wag about all things herpetological.

The talks are usually informative, and its a great chance to network.

This year's agenda can be downloaded here: ARG-UK SE Regional agenda

Steve

SARG NEWS - 17 October 2010

SARG NEWS - 17 October 2010

For next year, SARG has chosen the adder to be its 'species in focus'. This fits in nicely with the current Adder Project, which is a collaboration of south east regional groups to accurately map the known distribution of the adder, and to find new locations.

This afternoon, SARG surveyors visited Banstead Heath to try to establish adder presence. It was late in the year for adder activity, but the bright sunshine raised our hopes. It is important to establish whether adders are present at Banstead, as the Heath is under threat from a major water pipeline development.

Most of the heath is deemed to offer suitable habitat, and the day was made more than worth while with two beautiful juvenile adders spotted and photographed.

If you have seen an adder in 2010, or even in past years, can you please submit a sighting report on the SARG website? We need an approximate date for the sighting, and you can click on a map to record the location. ALL sightings are valuable to us, and we can sort the probables from the certainties. If you have a photo of the animal you saw, please say so in the comments field.

Below is a picture of the first adder sighting today, courtesy of Jonathan Cooper, one of the Banstead Commons Conservators. Thanks also to Richard Knights, Banstead Commons Warden for giving up part of his Sunday to show us around the Heath.

SARG NEWS - 11 October 2010

SARG NEWS - 11 October 2010

Reptile Habitat Management Handbook - out now!

Everyone needs a good read now that it's too cold for surveys, and we have the perfect thing! The 'Reptile Habitat Management Handbook' has just been published. It's aimed at site managers, and those who advise on habitat management, and gives plenty of guidance aimed at improving the status of snakes and lizards.

Some forum members kindly gave us ideas and photos when we started writing this - many thanks, and we hope that you'll find it useful. The book was published by ARC, with part-funding from Natural England and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Full details are: Edgar, P., Foster, J. & Baker, J. (2010). Reptile Habitat Management Handbook. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Bournemouth. ISBN 978-0-9566717-0-7.

Over the winter, we'll be running a jointly funded (Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and Natural England) series of training workshops for habitat managers. The aim will be to get the main messages out to those who are interested to learn more about incorporating reptile needs into site management. This is aimed at generalist site managers rather than those who already have a reptile focus to their work. We feel that just producing the handbook is only a start; real benefits for reptiles will need persistent promotion of the guidance and follow-up work, hence the workshops.

How do you get a copy?

One could be in the post to you already! Over the next couple of weeks, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation are doing a mass mail-out to a wide range of organisations working on habitat management. Everyone who contributed a photo that was used in the final version will also get a copy soon.

You can see a low resolution PDF version at: http://www.argukjb.org.uk/Downloads/RHMH%20LowRes.pdf

A high resolution version will be up soon at the ARC website: www.arc-trust.org

To get a free copy you can turn up to one of the conferences over the winter (eg ARC/BHS Scientific Meeting on 5 December), where there will be copies available. You can also request a copy directly from ARC - email enquiries@arc-trust.org or tel 01202 391319 (cost £3.00 to cover postage and handling; please enquire for bulk order costs).

How can forum members help?

Two ways spring to mind:

(a) By telling site managers and land managing organisations in your local patch about the handbook. Use its guidance to help enhance management for reptiles on sites that you visit, where necessary.

(b) By letting us have feedback on both format and content; anything missing, or advice that you think could be improved? The handbook gives a feedback email for this so that we can keep all your comments together.

Jim Foster

SARG Reptile Survey Team Note - 17 September 2010

SARG Reptile Survey Team Note - 17 September 2010

Dear reptile surveyors,

Just a month to go until the end of the survey season (around mid-October, depending on the weather). Some notable recent events:

Anne found and photographed a Smooth snake at **********. This is the first official record of Ca at ********** ******* ****. We've had anecdotal reports, and even a photograph, but the location of the sighting never tallied with the right sort of habitat. So we now have a formal record, as a new Surrey Ca site.

Henry had a staggering survey day at ******** on Thursday with 12 Smooth snake records on one visit...all with great ID photographs.

Mary found and photographed a basking ball of five juvenile Smooth snakes at Frensham, just a little way from a tin concealing an adult pair. But she will have checked about a thousand tins by the end of the season!!

We've set up three new sites in Sussex: *********, Iping and **********, two of which support Sand lizard populations (not Iping...yet).

The statistics so far this year speak for themselves:

Tins_checked	Number_of_surveys	Sites_visited	Adder	Grass_snake	Smooth_snake	Slow_worm	Common_lizard	Sand_lizard	Total
3939	205	39	172	110	149	399	367	84	1281

These figures are amazing! - again this year, SARG will have generated more records for ARC than the entire national NARRS programme.
The site managers are using the distribution data to inform their management plans, and we are using to data to inform re-introductions of Smooth snake and Sand lizard, and of course we have generated amazing statistics which will make future survey more effective.

Very many thanks for all the hours of survey that you have put in. My gob has never been so smacked!

We will be running habitat management days with ARC at most of the rare reptile sites, so if you fancy a little winter exercise, just check the SARG diary. The first event has already happened, and there will be a couple per month until March.

Cheers for now,

Steve

SARG Reptile Survey Team Note - 28 July 2010

SARG Reptile Survey Team Note - 28 July 2010

Folks,

You may know that there was a serious wildfire at Frensham Common on 11th July. There is a news link on the SARG homepage showing the fire damage.

Steve Webster, the Countryside Ranger for Frensham has asked SARG to help with a search and rescue for surviving reptiles, which are reported to be emerging from tree stumps and rabbit warrens, even after this amount of time. Steve is a 'good egg' and has been very supportive in the past, and its a worthwhile thing to do anyway.

I shall be conducting a search across the fire damaged area this Saturday (31st July), meeting outside the Ranger's hut by the Frensham Great Pond car park, at 09:00am. OSGB Grid ref: SU8447340567.

If any of you could spare an hour or two to help with the search, that would be great. If you can attend, please let me know to expect you, or if you're a bit late, just join us on the fire damaged area (we will be easy to spot!).

Many thanks,

Steve

SARG NEWS - 03 June 2010

SARG NEWS - 03 June 2010

• If you have a garden pond with tadpoles - watch out for froglets emerging over the next two weeks. If you have a lawn which is regularly mowed, it might be a good idea to keep the grass as short as possible over the next couple of months, otherwise the small froglets will seek cover in the long grass and may risk a nasty end when you do get the lawnmower out. Keeping the grass short will encourage them to seek shelter in hedgerows and flower borders.

• On Sunday 6th June, SARG will be manning a stall at the Guildford Springwatch 'Wild day out' event in Shalford Park. As usual, we will have a collection of wild reptiles and amphibians, which will spend the day in vivaria, before being returned to the countryside at the end of the day. SARG experts will be fielding questions from the public, and providing advice to promote the conservation of the animals.

• For more information visit The SWT Wild Day Out Website

SARG NEWS - 26 April 2010

SARG NEWS - 26 April 2010

The animals are out!

All six native reptile species are now out of hibernation and this is the best time of year to observe them in the wild.
Surrey sand lizards and smooth snakes have emerged about a month later than usual, perhaps a consequence of the cold winter.

Newt activity is in full flow, again later than usual. Toad migration is now over, with the peak at the end of March, rather than the usual mid-March.
Frog and toad tadpoles have hatched, with the county's ponds teeming with new life.

One abnormality, again perhaps associated with the cold winter, is an unusually high number of juvenile animals of all species being reported. Perhaps the cold weather has allowed the animals a full and deep hibernation, which seems to have improved winter survival rates.

Events

Monday 3rd May 2010 - SARG are manning a stall at the Charter Fair at Haslemere. Come along to see a display of wild amphibians and reptiles, collected for the day, so you can get up close and personal with some of the county's best hidden animals.

Sunday 23rd May 2010 - SARG is planning a reptile photography day, where you can bring along a camera, and receive some expert guidance on how to find, approach and photograph reptiles, such as the rare sand lizard. Email Steve@surrey-arg.org.uk to book a free place.

Sunday 6th June 2010 - Springwatch is holding a 'breathing places' event at Guildford. SARG will be manning a display, including some of the county's rarest animals.

For more events; look at the SARG Diary on the website.

SARG NEWS - 20 March 2010

SARG NEWS - 20 March 2010

Dear SARG member,

Your local toads, frogs and newts need your help!

Can you spare some time to help toads, frogs and newts cross roads to get to their breeding ponds this spring?

Every Spring, thousands of toads are accidentally killed as they undertake their night-time crossing of the roads across the United Kingdom. Toad crossing activity has started over the last 2 days, and is likely to continue until the end of March.

We need volunteers who can help out at toad crossings, transporting the animals across the road, saving them from being run over by traffic. Even if you can manage just a night or two, this would help the animals.

Recording the number of toads seen is a critical activity as this provides the evidence needed to determine population changes.

A full list of registered Toad Crossings, and what is involved can be found on the SARG website: www.surrey-arg.org.uk ('The Animals' menu,'Toad Crossings' icon).

If you can help and would like to know your nearest toad crossing then please contact myself, Danial Winchester on Home: 01252 794441 , Mobile: 07790 526991 or Email: danial@surrey-arg.org.uk

Many thanks

Danial

SARG NEWS - 03 March 2010

SARG NEWS - 03 March 2010

Toad Crossings

Every spring, thousands of toads migrate from hibernation sites to breeding ponds across Surrey. In many areas this journey, sometimes over a kilometre, will involve crossing roads. SARG coordinates the 34 approved toad crossing sites in Surrey, helping to get these charismatic amphibians across our roads and safely into their ponds. This year, we expect the main migration to happen in the middle of March. If you would like to know more about Toad crossings, and how you could help, please take a look at our Toads on Roads webpage.

http://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/SARG/02000-Activities/ToadCrossings/SARG2toadCrossings.shtml

NARRS Training

Each year, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (formerly the Herpetological Conservation Trust HCT and Froglife) organise the National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme (NARRS). This scheme relies upon members of the public to survey a 1km grid square close to their home. SARG trains these volunteers to find and record the animals. If you would like to become involved, please visit the NARRS website.

http://www.narrs.org.uk/

Adder Emergence

As the first spring-like days are upon us, now is the time for adders to emerge from hibernation (The first Surrey adder was reported on Tuesday 2nd March). The snakes won't travel far from their winter hibernation sites just yet, and it is possible to see several males basking together. If you see a group of adders in March, please let us know, as this is very likely to be an important hibernation site. We need to protect these sites from development, as adder hibernacula are vital for the species' survival, and can be used by many generations of the animals. Please let our reptiles officer know of any sightings:

Reptiles@surrey-arg.org.uk

SARG NEWS - 13 January 2010

SARG NEWS - 13 January 2010

Do you have a pond in your garden?
Is it frozen, with a layer of ice on top?
What should you do to protect the life in your pond?...nothing (probably).

The old advice of punching a hole in the ice has been shown to be not terribly effective.
After all, ponds have been freezing in every cold winter since the last ice Age, about 10,000 years ago.
Pond life evolved to cope with severe winters long before we pesky humans came onto the scene.

Oxygen is produced under the ice by pond plants, even in these cold conditions. There is a good chance that you will have hibernating frogs at the bottom of your pond, that have slowed down their metabolism, and are extracting oxygen from the pond water through their skin.

If your pond is covered in snow, then this may block the sunlight which allows the plants to produce oxygen, so carefully clearing the snow away may help.

There are still a few winter habitat and pond tasks scheduled for the winter period, so if you fancy helping the wild reptiles and amphibians, why not check out the next habitat management date on the SARG diary?

Cheers,