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Our first grass snake

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    Posted: 11 Jul 2005 at 7:50am

Having spent yesterday setting up a survey at a very nice private nature reserve in Essex with a number of ponds and confirmed grass snakes, I was day dreaming as I wandered up the garden today with the first coffee of the morning, about visiting the site early in the morning to spot hunting grass snakes.

As I sat down by our relatively small garden pond, I blinked and blinked again as a sub-adult grass snake swam across the pond...

I might not have believed it but for the fact it then re-appeard and swam across the pond again.

Happy? I've waited 15 months for our first grass snake 

Herp score so far in our relatively tiny wildlife garden:

Smooth Newts

Common Frogs

Common Toads (introduced)

Viviparous Lizards

Slow-worms

Grass snake

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Alan Hyde View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Hyde Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2005 at 8:28am
Niiiiiice!!! Congrats Gemma You're very lucky.

Herp score in my garden
Common Fwogs

Common Toads (imported by me from my old haunt in shepperton)

Other creatures...
Regular Blackbird family
Blackcap that has just started feeding on our feeders
Dragonflys.
Bernie the Chameleon (weather permiting)

Tons of pigeons that my neighbour keeps and the rodents that their mess attracts
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2005 at 9:32am

Al,

Which dragonfliess have you seen?

We mostly get broad-bodied chasers, emperors (egg laying females) the odd four-spotted chaser and various darters that I'm not up to identifying yet!

Damselflies are mostly blue-tailed and common blue.

We have a growing list of birds that pass through, from kestrels and marauding spar hawks to robins, tits, wagtails, spotted and green wood peckers, jays, maggies and the list goes on! Most notable are the blue tits which used our nest box this year, a family of sparrows (the young Merv calls the 'terrible trio', which are most entertaining as they learn to fly properly), oh and 'Joe Crow'.. which is a long story but I've tried for over a year to stop him pinching the bird food with little success

We guess that the wildlife garden is only about 60 square yards.. can't wait untill we get 30 acres

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Hyde Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2005 at 11:50am
Eh !! Eh!! W-w-w-what!? 30 acres!!!!?
Thanks Gemma you reminded me , we also have a pair of Sparrowhawks , a few magpies, and various tits.

Dragonflies are Brown hawker (I photographed one this morn') and Southern hawker.
Damselflies are same as yours blue-tailed and common blue , but only this morning I saw our first banded demoiselle !!!

So how come you're getting 30 acres?

Al
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2005 at 2:24pm

Originally posted by Alan Hyde Alan Hyde wrote:


So how come you're getting 30 acres?

Al

 

Well, both Merv and I have thought for a long time that we wanted our own land. A few experiences of finding brownfield sites teeming with animals only to find out they are about to become car parks to frictions with a number of cough cough cough 'conservation organisations' has led us to believe even more that instead of running around in circles fighting fires it is better to buy your own land leave it to nature with only very light management to give plenty of variety.

So we are both gearing up our businesses to buy a 30 acre small holding (we think this is an optimum size for two peeps to manage as a wildlife reserve) and spend the rest of our lives recording the herps, flowers, butterflies, dragonflies, birds, mammals you name it that come along.

(Oh yes and shooting any uninvited Homo stupidicus that dare put a foot on it )

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Alan Hyde Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2005 at 2:42pm
Sounds like a great idea! I hope all goes well.

I have been trying to convince Sarah that we should buy some land in Tobago for the same reasons .

But I do hope that i am considered homo sensiblicus and that I may mooch around your land with you and Merv one day , please? .

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2005 at 3:27pm
I should think that could be arranged Al  PS don't tell Merv but me is working on a theory to ensure colonisation by the stripey ones
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