Not seen a British reptile in over 10 years...

[martyp]

Hi all,
I grew up by the sea in Kent and remember discovering the local Viviparous lizards up my road, basking on ant mounds. They seemed fairly numerous at the time. I also used to frequently find slow worms including young ones. I also after a long time searching for a grass snake found one in my own garden pond and also saw Adders whilst on heathland walks in the New Forest and Dartmoor.
I moved to the West Midlands in 2002 and haven't seen a single reptile anywhere. I'm wondering if I've lost my eye for spotting them or if they're less common here or if they really are generally much less common than they used to be. I haven't seen anything at all for over 10 years now and always keep my eye out. I have seen common frogs and toads though in my local area, frequently finding them in my back garden, including a woodland stream with lots of frogspawn in.
Are reptiles much more hard to find these days or is it just me?

[ashby_1963]

I grew up in coastal west sussex and throughout my childhood I enjoyed watching the lizards, slow worms and adders in my area.
That was over twenty years ago, so last time I visited relatives in Sussex, I checked out all the spots that should have guaranteed these species and, you guessed it, nothing at all.

I work in gardens all year round and I have not seen a reptile of any kind since 1996.
Paul

[badgerwatcher]

In my garden, the many local cats eat the lizards, even though I fire water pistols at them, and the foxes eat the slow worms. I don't know how to protect them.

[Rob_D]

Hi Marty,

Maybe the NBN can help you find some in the West Midlands.

NBN Gateway: Adder (Vipera berus) grid map

You can zoom in on the interactive maps. Be careful that some of the records are very old and the reptiles are long gone, but it might give you some clues.

Rob

[marvin]

hi

west midlands isn't a great reptile area but there are one or two exceptions.

that is one reason why you are seeing fewer now than when you lived in kent but from what i can gather the general feeling is that british reptiles have been in decline for some years also.

tim

[pammosley]

I saw my first slow worm last year ( & I`m no spring chicken ) Also a common lizard last summer. Hubby saw loads when he was young, hardly any around now

[martyp]

Thanks all, I think I've heard of people round here having seen an adder before in their gardens but they probably wouldn't mention if they saw any non-venomous reptile. My girlfriend recalls seeing a grass snake in her back garden about 15 years ago. Her garden backs on to woodland in this area.
I had a look at the map and the nearest location to me had one adder sighting in 1966, the next nearest the most recent sighting was 1991, most records being in the 80s. There's a reserve near me which is mostly heathland which I think looks good for adders.
I also feared the harm the local cats had on the lizard population where I grew up, I'm still battling them in my own garden to keep them away from the bird feeder. Another factor was that all the local fields and natural areas around my street are now housing estates, every tiny little patch of land is now built on.
Where I live now I have an area behind my garden which has been preserved to become woodland and also some nice older woodland, a lake and a canal. Although many of those habitats were man made I'm hoping it'll attract reptiles to my area. I should find some old corrugated metal and lay it down in places too.

[Jim Ford]

I've long thought that if we were to bring back a Victorian naturalist, and proudly show them one of our nature reserves, they'd be horrified and say: "But where are all the flowers, butterflies and birds?".

Our expectations are constantly being driven downwards, and there will come a time when the location of a dandelion will be a closely guarded secret, and have a cage around it.

Jim

[muscardinus]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

I've long thought that if we were to bring back a Victorian naturalist, and proudly show them one of our nature reserves, they'd be horrified and say: "But where are all the flowers, butterflies and birds?".

Jim

This is getting a bit off the topic, but I reckon you're only half-right, Jim.

Yes, there are less flowers, butterflies and birds in general, but equally there are far more Buzzards, Red Kites, Ospreys, Otters, Pine Martens... predators were decimated under the Victorians, no?

But I know what you mean.

[LizardLover]

Originally Posted by badgerwatcher

In my garden, the many local cats eat the lizards, even though I fire water pistols at them, and the foxes eat the slow worms. I don't know how to protect them.

Its sad what your saying about the lizards,I wonder if you put lots of hollow metal tubes down,they could hide in them,and predators could not reach them?
Gillian*X