Grass snake dilemma

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   Hi
This post is a little long so apologies in advance for that!
Background: 
At Heathrow I have two sites next to each other (separated by a busy road) which both support grass snake.  One is a nature reserve while the other (although still managed for conservation) is more of an active operational site.  The nature reserve has many of the habitats and requirements necessary to support the snakes.  The operational site is used for large scale composting (the cuttings from the airfield along with arbicultural waste are turned into compost for use on horticultural features in an accelerated single season process). Both sites are situated around a large balancing pond.
The problem:  
Today I found a large gravid female near to the composting area, clearly preparing to egg lay. This area holds three composting rows as well as TONS of waiting grass cuttings and woodchip piles - obviously a major attraction to females.  Any eggs laid here are not likely to survive as they will be destroyed when the cuttings are moved to be composted.  I am currently developing a mitigating programme that will hopefully reduce the risks so do not yet want to talk about preventative measures.  
My question is this: 
Do I move individuals to the relative safety of the nature reserve or leave them where they are?  I know that handling gravid females or indeed any individuals during breeding season is unadvisable but could this be considered a rescue mission?  If gravid females are moved to a location next to another suitable egg laying site at the nature reserve (earlier this year I had several tons of grass and woodchip moved there for this purpose, approx 0.5 and 0.8 km from the composting area) would they then use this location or simply attempt to return to the original site, risking a journey across the road?  With large machinery operating in the area adults are also at risk from being crushed.  There is already a well established population at the 'potential donor site' so what is the likely impact upon them? 
Any thoughts welcome.
Cheers

Edited by rhysrkid

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rhysrkid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 98	Post Options Post Reply Quote rhysrkid Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Grass snake dilemma Posted: 01 Jun 2005 at 6:39am
	Hi This post is a little long so apologies in advance for that! Background: At Heathrow I have two sites next to each other (separated by a busy road) which both support grass snake. One is a nature reserve while the other (although still managed for conservation) is more of an active operational site. The nature reserve has many of the habitats and requirements necessary to support the snakes. The operational site is used for large scale composting (the cuttings from the airfield along with arbicultural waste are turned into compost for use on horticultural features in an accelerated single season process). Both sites are situated around a large balancing pond. The problem: Today I found a large gravid female near to the composting area, clearly preparing to egg lay. This area holds three composting rows as well as TONS of waiting grass cuttings and woodchip piles - obviously a major attraction to females. Any eggs laid here are not likely to survive as they will be destroyed when the cuttings are moved to be composted. I am currently developing a mitigating programme that will hopefully reduce the risks so do not yet want to talk about preventative measures. My question is this: Do I move individuals to the relative safety of the nature reserve or leave them where they are? I know that handling gravid females or indeed any individuals during breeding season is unadvisable but could this be considered a rescue mission? If gravid females are moved to a location next to another suitable egg laying site at the nature reserve (earlier this year I had several tons of grass and woodchip moved there for this purpose, approx 0.5 and 0.8 km from the composting area) would they then use this location or simply attempt to return to the original site, risking a journey across the road? With large machinery operating in the area adults are also at risk from being crushed. There is already a well established population at the 'potential donor site' so what is the likely impact upon them? Any thoughts welcome. Cheers Edited by rhysrkid
	Rhys

herpetologic2 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Forum Coordinator Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1511	Post Options Post Reply Quote herpetologic2 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Jun 2005 at 4:27am
	Wouldnt it be useful to see if the snakes do move back? They range over very large distances and they must investigate good egglaying areas which change I am sure as the years go on. You could try moving them and then monitor any movement from the nature reserve - this would inform your future decisions on how to cope with this problem - possibly The larger the muck/vegetation pile the more chance is given to the snake eggs when it is being worked I surpose - Yes I know everyone is going to highlight that you must not 'kill or injure' reptiles blah blah but hey you are not going to stop the grass snakes finding the compost - unless you spend large sums on grass snake proof fencing If grass snake eggs are uncovered then i would say that these can be rescued and then either placed into another compost heap or taken indoors and incubated until they hatch and then they can be released into the nature reserve - a last resort of course JC

rhysrkid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 98	Post Options Post Reply Quote rhysrkid Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Jun 2005 at 1:13pm
	I think for now I will adopt a case by case approach. If individuals are in a position where they are easy to catch with minimum handling then I may consider moving them. I hate to think that their eggs run the risk of being damaged. Hopefully we can put in place some measures to help minimise any impact next year. Edited by rhysrkid
	Rhys