MERSEA ISLAND ESSEX ADDERS
Printed From: Reptiles and Amphibians of the UK
Category: Herpetofauna Native to the UK
Forum Name: Adder
Forum Description: Forum for all issues concerning Vipera berus
URL: http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3322
Printed Date: 23 Apr 2024 at 12:13pm
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Topic: MERSEA ISLAND ESSEX ADDERS
Posted By: AGILIS
Subject: MERSEA ISLAND ESSEX ADDERS
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2010 at 2:14pm
 Hi folks took a trip to Mersea island this morning to look for some adders, Arrived by my 4x4 truck that I left some miles away from the sight as I had my mountain bike on the back.Then cycled to the acclaimed sight at Cudmore grove not having a clue were to start, then looked across the car park and spotted some rough looking ground with lots of nice brambles & stingers, that seem to abound when I am wearing shorts, and decided this looks a good spot.Been there about 5minutes and a lady with a small child and dog came past, and said good morning, then I decided to ask her the daft question if she was local and seen any, which she replied o yes quite often an pointed to a bush, thanked her and had a look and as she said one was laying there a small female that took off so no photo.Proceeding along the track by the car park, I spotted the warden named Dougal who pointed out a few more spots all near the car park that was begining to fill up with dog walkers and kids with footballs. I thought surely not being so close, and behold spotted two distinctive mails basking together who hopped it as soon as I switched on the camera. then spotted a tail dissapearing and got a shot, then another laying out stretched with its head hidden managed to snap that.Then mistook a branch that I thought was a nat, snapped that my eyes must be bad. I did see one lv. And had a look at the hibenacular that was constructed and on TV early this year looked a bit like a grave , then cycled of feeling satisfied , stopped for second and put me bike on an embankment and could not believe it a very light coloured one next my handlebars that took off, very please with this mini trip only sad thing is the adders living around near the car park really need their habitat fenced of with more forceable notices then the one that requests dogs be kept on leads as the disturbance will diminish the habitat, but the weather was overcast and warm ideal herping conditions
Pic of me stick snake 
 ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Replies:
Posted By: herpetologic2
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2010 at 10:09pm
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Ahhh Mersea Island an excellent reptile site and Dougal
is a top lad. That hibernacula is looking great - I helped build it you see - I have created four in this area (Mersea & Peldon) and they work really well. The hibernacula in the picture was dug by hand - Dougal and a young lad called Shaun It was almost a metre deep - 2 metres wide and 5 metres long - when I arrived I was pretty amazed as it was 1 days digging - they did very well! It took us less than a few hours to fill it lol! On the signage front I think that they have it just right - if the signs were any more forceful then I would suggest that they are counter productive. Cudmore Grove is an interesting case study as we have data for the adders over the last 7 years and it has clearly shown that adders have moved into the CP from the seawall as the EA heavily cut the wall and so the adders have dispersed into the country park. However with the numbers of people (including over 90 on reptile walks) the disturbance is possibly having an effect on adder numbers being detected each spring - the trend is downwards over the last 5 years An important example where the Make the Adder Count methodology is useful to record the status of adder colonies. Another Essex Country Park has an opposite attitude towards the public and its adders - the adders are not publicised at all - the one reptile walk which was organised with myself led to these being banned as a bunch of the Essex Amphibian & Reptile Club turned up with snake hooks coming out of their ears. The Ranger decided on that day that he did not want to have reptile walks. Dougal at Cudmore Grove believes he is doing important PR work for the adders with plenty of people coming to the Park to see adders in the wild. Last year he had 90 people and they found 9 adult adders who behaved well enough for everyone to see them very close up. Back in at the other country park though the adders number around 45 - with groups of 2 or 3 and up to 15 or so in the spring. The Ranger knows where each colony is and he intends to keep the adders under wraps as best he can - hence I have not revealed the name of the country park. The adder count data on the country park has shown that the numbers are stable so the difference in management of the adders could explain this but we need more data J (The hibernacula was on country file btw) ------------- Report your sightings to the Record Pool http://recordpool.org.uk" rel="nofollow - http://arguk.org/recording |
Posted By: tim hamlett
Date Posted: 06 Jul 2010 at 10:36pm
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enjoyed your post keith. watch out for them stick snakes, they can be viscious! tim |
Posted By: AGILIS
Date Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 9:47am
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Hi Tim & Jon I would like to point out that Dougal Urquat the warden of Cudmore, was most helpful in pointing out the known spots as you can see this is a special place as far as adder colonies go in Essex , as I have seen the demise of them in several areas in the county over the years due to intrusion by dog walkers etc, that is why I think some places should have minimum fencing not to restrictive just to deter people from ruining their habitat as ball games + dogs do not go hand in hand with the wildlife. keith ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Posted By: herpetologic2
Date Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 10:07am
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Hi Keith
It is a well known site for adders - it is one of the few which are regularly monitored in Essex. The thing you have to take on board is that the site is a country park and there is massive ruining of the adder's habitat on the seawall by the EA - this is far more damaging. The adder population is adapting to the changes at the site from the seawall to the country park They seem to be bearing up despite the close nature of the site users and surprising very few dogs are bitten - low key fences and dead hedging is one of the things which Dougal is looking into - he has to be careful not to upset the dog walkers and other human users. I was merely pointing out the importance of monitoring adder numbers in the spring - it reveals interesting data which provides clues to how well the animals are doing I have a list of the top sites for adders in Essex Epping Forest was the best up until the turn of the century where there has been a 60% decline in spring numbers in 10 years Essex CP I mentioned is on a par now with Epping Forest and has not experienced any decline with numbers stable - total peak numbers of 45 in 2010 - probably the largest number of adders found so far in a site in Essex Cudmore grove CP - there has been a small decline over 5 years - 35% in spring count numbers Backwarden - this site has peak count of 18 adult adders which is interesting as their habitat is being reduced by heathland restoration - they are bunching up in the last remaining hibernation area and are dispersing to other external sites including gardens! J ------------- Report your sightings to the Record Pool http://recordpool.org.uk" rel="nofollow - http://arguk.org/recording |
Posted By: AGILIS
Date Posted: 07 Jul 2010 at 12:23pm
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Hi J Yes Epping forest was a great place in the 1950/60s that has now been ruined by over management and tidying up. Also there was a few at Fordham heath near Colchester that have now dissapeared, be interested if you have seen any around Donnyland area on the Mersea road Roman river area ? as I see you mentioned the Peldon area keith ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Posted By: Liz Heard
Date Posted: 08 Jul 2010 at 4:00pm
fab report keith. thanks. really interesting and enjoyable. i worked all over bucks/herts/norfolk and especially ESSEX during the avian 'flu' scare. surveillance. locating and collecting dead birds reported by landowners or the public and taking them back to DEFRA in chelmsford (where i was staying)for lab testing. i went to many nice places in the weeks i was there but never saw an adder  but then, i was too busy to stop and search properly.
remarkable stick snake! must be an alien escape. it was certainly worthy of a pic!
regarding the sign. i totally agree with herpetologic. its fair and balanced in its wording and not too detailed to put people off bothering to read it. it was a good idea to photograph and post that too. ben |
Posted By: administrator
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2010 at 4:59pm
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Re Backwarden, It's no surprise the animals are
dispersing into gardens, the traditional spring dispersal area is now a wasteland. So Jon you have taken on board now the head count is increasing at the main hibernation site for all the wrong reasons? In the past you seemed to think it was a good sign. I also seem to remember the last major clearance was thought of as all good stuff at the time because they were bunging in a few hibernacula as they wrecked the site.. not much good if there is nowhere with suitable vegetative cover for the animals to disperse into during the spring. The adder populations on the adjacent Danbury Common BTW appear to have crashed in the past two years at 3 of the 4 locations I know of. No surprise as conservation there consists of pulling out all the vegetation with tractors, same old story a few adders left in isolated patches that persisted for a while. I'm surprised Jon you think only a few adder sites in Essex are regularly monitored, you perhaps mean only a few sites are monitored by yourself or your associates 
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Posted By: herpetologic2
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2010 at 6:51pm
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Hi Gemma
No I did not think that the increase in numbers was a good sign as like you I was concerned about the lack of cover after the habitat clearance by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The first clearance which was some distance away from the ponds and main adder area has developed into very nice habitat - we can only hope that the reptiles have recolonised. We have burned our bridges with EWT and NE on the issues at the Backwarden. However ARG UK and ARC trust are now taking up such issues as the adder is a key species under the National BAP - John Baker is looking into concerns regarding the adder sites in Epping Forest - a local has been monitoring the sites for over ten years and so we have data to show that a key interest feature of the SSSI is being harmed by the management works - slightly stronger position than at the back warden - though I will check the citation again Here are the adder sites which I know about 1.Bonners Barn - Colchester* 2. Cudmore grove CP - Mersea* 3. Essex CP - South Essex* 4. Back warden - Chelmsford 5. Danbury Common - Chelmsford 6. Langdon Hills - Basildon* 7. Nevendon Washland - Basildon (to be monitored - translocation site) 8. Epping Forest multiple sites* There are plenty more - the ones with an asterix are ones which have more than five years worth of count data If anyone can provide any further count data from the spring in the last 5 years then please do send in the results - the county recorder - Moi! ------------- Report your sightings to the Record Pool http://recordpool.org.uk" rel="nofollow - http://arguk.org/recording |
Posted By: AGILIS
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2010 at 12:04pm
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Hi Gemma glad to hear from you on the sight as you have been a bit quiet of recent keith ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Posted By: administrator
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2010 at 6:57pm
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Hi Keith, I find life is generally better away from
internet forums
"The first clearance which was some distance away from the ponds and main adder area has developed into very nice habitat - we can only hope that the reptiles have recolonised." It's nothing to do with hope, it's to do with proper survey, the answer is no the area is not recolonised by adder, slowworms or grass snakes, a few common lizard occasionally. I wouldn't expect the area to be recolonised by adder for years to come, the soil structure is destroyed so not really very nice habitat if you are an adder. It use to be mature gorse and adder of all lifestages could be found at the bases it was an extremely important area for congregations of gravid females.. not anymore. So Jon when are you going to put my name forward for consideration as county recorder to the field club like you said you would? Then I can send my extensive Essex records to myself. You never know I might even be able to mend a few of the bridges that got burnt, I do seem to have rather a lot of time on my hands these days.... The record of you saying it was a 'good thing'that the numbers were increasing at the main hibernacula at Backwarden is BTW still on this forum, I'm not about to dig out the thread but it was your own words. Of course my data is not based on a spring head count alone which could lead to sweeping conclusions, rather 6 years now of careful recording throughout the active season across the entire site. |
Posted By: herpetologic2
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2010 at 9:15am
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Gemma
If you want to be the Essex Herpetofauna Recorder then I can send this email to Peter Harvey and they will approve this appointment and so you can take on the data searches, and the role of county recorder for Essex. I would assume that you are a member of the field club? I would like to use your data to compare the Backwarden with other Essex adder sites - I have lots of spring count data which is just a record of the spring emergence which is when most adders are seen (mostly males) and the simplest method to monitor numbers. I have never said that the clearance as it stands was a good thing at the Backwarden - we have tried to influence what the EWT were doing - we even had face to face meetings about the issue and they were hiding behind the local Natural England Team - who were funding the habitat clearance. The small initial clearance nearest the road is the bit where I thought if I could survey I would find reptiles - the rest of the area which has been cleared has been a disaster for the reptile population along with the Dormice that were found there. I have also tried to stop the works around the gcn pond - in fact Paul Cantwell from NE investigated the matter and actually found that they had the wrong license - a clear case of destroying newt terrestrial habitat - no significant action was taken - in fact I was not even invited to the site meeting - it was Paul, Local NE, and EWT - so of course they were found out - Mark Iley was given a general license to clear vegetation by hand tools yet they were using heavy machinery. So all I would like to know Gemma is how many snakes were seen during the spring through your field surveys - you will be fully credited and I will only use the data for conservation purposes - Once you have become the county recorder I will forward all the county data to you -0 I think that would be possible through the Essex field Club website and their species database. Jon ------------- Report your sightings to the Record Pool http://recordpool.org.uk" rel="nofollow - http://arguk.org/recording |
Posted By: administrator
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2010 at 9:17pm
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Yes Jon I am a member of the Essex field club.
I guess I've heard a different story regarding Backwarden on the ground. It was very much a case of being told that after your meeting with EWT they seemed to think you supported the works. Shame as if I had also attended the meeting I could have provided a further two years of records which indicated the amount of damage being done to the adder populations by habitat clearance work at Backwarden and the adjacent Danbury Common. I know all about the various parties hiding behind each other, very frustrating it is too. |
Posted By: AGILIS
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2010 at 8:08am
hi Gemma I think the main problem of Herp conservation in my areas in Suffolk still lies with the people running organisations like Nat england and the likes , are all mainly twitchers,whose ony interest in our area is to rip out all the hibennacular on various local heaths to promote the stone curlew with new habitat at the expense of other animals ,because the stone curlews original habitat has been ruined by past farming practices .Also had a report of the odd adder seen on the golf course near west Bergholt??I also viewed Layer Breton heath at Birch yesterday but bit to warm, but had been told by a local naturalist, that grass snakes and lizards and sloworms were -present but you cant rule out adders because they havent been spotted as its a large area still plenty of gatekeepers about , keith
 ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Posted By: herpetologic2
Date Posted: 08 Dec 2011 at 11:16pm
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Great news - the grave created at Mersea Island aka the hibernacula has been used by 4 adders this spring! Dougal had seen an adder right on top of the hibernacula which featured on a radio broadcast this spring to highlight the plight of the adder. Sadly Dougal did not have a camera!! D'oh! I will be out there next spring to record the animal locations for sure ------------- Report your sightings to the Record Pool http://recordpool.org.uk" rel="nofollow - http://arguk.org/recording |
Posted By: AGILIS
Date Posted: 09 Dec 2011 at 8:09am
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Hi you did you did not mention what date they were spotted.keith ------------- LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID |
Posted By: herpetologic2
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 6:07pm
| The warden swears it was in the spring - I will get hold of the dates - he did not have a camera with him mind lol |
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: 14 Jan 2012 at 8:35pm
I started reading this thread and thought lucky old Keith seeing so much on 14th January. Then I saw it was 6th July 2010! Ye gods!
------------- Suz |