reptiles in cheshire?

[Joel.W]

i was wondering if anyone can offer me any advice. I have never been able to find any reptiles in my area and was wondering if anyone knew of any populations of any of our 6 native species. I am particularly interested in seeing an adder but dont even know if these occur where i am. From my research it seems that cannock forest has some reptiles but i dont know what species or how likely i am to see them. Can anyone point me in the right direction? many thanks,
Joel

[eeyore]

http://www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/sit...7&pageNumber=2

Hi joel you might find this interesting

[henrya]

Look on the NBN Gateway ( www.searchnbn.net )

henrya

[kerfoot]

Hi Joel,
I'm afraid you won't see a smooth snake up here, they're restricted to a handful of sites in dorset and surrey.
There is a population of sand lizards along the sefton coast so they're a possibility. You can see them at Chester zoo also as they have a successful captive breeding programme for them.
The 4 more common spp. are around I'm sure. The best thing to do is contact the different Amphibian and Reptile groups near you.
Here's the link to their contacts page http://www.arg-uk.org.uk/contacts.htm
I'm doing the same thing at the moment with groups over in yorkshire but haven't managed to get out anywhere yet. There is a big recording scheme called Make the Adder Count, which is trying to find out if they are still around at sites where they historically used to be. A lot of this monitoring happened after emergence from hibernation when they are more visable as they're preoccupied with breeding. Unfortunately this time has now passed and the adders will prob be more dispersed through their habitat but are still around.
Grass snakes are quite visable at the moment as they are looking for egg laying sites in compost piles

Just remembered this link-http://www.cheshire-biodiversity.org.uk/menu-home.htm
If you have any luck and find out where to go to try and spot them, please let me know as I'm really interested in searching for reptiles too.
Good luck Joel

[Joel.W]

wow, theyres some great info on those sites, thanks guys. It seems that Risley Moss in warrington has some, so im gonna get in touch with them to find out how rare the adders are there an find out how likely i am of seeing some and maybe go have a look around. thanks for the help.

[Jo Pedder]

When looking for reptiles, it is always best to time your efforts to when you are most likely to see them. Being cold blooded, reps need to warm up in the morning before they become active, so you are more likely to encounter them while they are basking first thing, than at noon when they have all the energy they need and will be active enough to get out of your way long before you see them.

The perfect time for reptile spotting is during intermittent showers - as the rain keeps cooling them them down, and the sun keeps coming back out and you get more oppertunities to see them through the day. Look for places where they can bask but still get quickly under cover; like clearings in the middle of scrub or long grass. Also look under just about everything that you can pick up too - logs and partiicularly things that will retain heat - old tyres, metal sheets etc. I found a lovely slow worm beside a main road in Surrey a few weeks ago using the warmth of a lorries discared mud gaurd.

Also, to re-iterate using your local ARG, different ARGs are more active then others, but you should find them very helpfull and all to please if you want to volunteer to help monitor their sites.

Good Luck!

[speckled wood]

I used to see Grass Snakes alongside the River Waldron (Valley Brook) until the 1970s at Haslington Golf Course, the area where I used to see them is now rather overgrown but they may still be there.

It may also be worth lookingover the "borders into Staffordshire and Shropshire. I have seen Sloworms at Whixhall Moss near Whitchurch and Lizards at Bayston Hill just South of Shrewsbury.

[SteveMcBill]

You may wish to contact your Local Records Centre for details of reptiles in Cheshire. The Cheshire LRC is called rECOrd and can be contacted on 01244 383749 or by e-mail at info@rECOrd-LRC.co.uk. Their website is found at:

rECOrd : A Biodiversity Information System for Cheshire, Halton, Warrington & Wirral

The website has a data searrch and mapping facility and a great data entry facility as well as lots of information about biodiversity recording and species in the Cheshire region. Hope they prove of help.

Steve

P.S.: The Cheshire and Wirral Amphibian and Reptile Group (CWARG) is just being re-formed - I am sure the staff at rECOrd can point you in the right direction should you be interested.

[laura1985]

hey, im from crewe only real chance to see a reptile in crewe is round my house lol.There is adders at zan in Wheelock though and grass snakes in elworth down near the canals x

[Littlesparrow]

My son has seen grass snakes in the fields in Sandbach, but I haven't seen anything myself.