Thursley Common

camo · #1 (**permalink**) 30-04-2009, 08:49 PM

Hi

I am planning a trip to Thursley Common to hopefully see Smooth Snakes, slow worm and Sand Lizard . I haven't been before has anyone got any experience of the reserve to give me some advice.

Roy

marvin · #2 (**permalink**) 30-04-2009, 10:04 PM

hi roy

try here RAUK e-Forum there are a number of people who know the area well.

tim

Cheryl · #3 (**permalink**) 30-04-2009, 10:25 PM

Hello Roy

I'm not far from there so I go there quite often just to walk but also in the hope of seeing those too. Not seen any of them so far but I still keep looking

So far this year at Thursley I've seen quite a few common lizards, one adder - I saw my first 4 spot chasers of the year the other day and some large red damselflies, and the curlew. Not seen the hobbys as yet .....

Good luck - hope you have a good day

NickCantle · #4 (**permalink**) 30-04-2009, 10:46 PM

I have a feeling that Jules (Wild-Woman) knows this area well. There was a WAB meet there not that long ago, so people will fill you in when they see this thread

camo · #5 (**permalink**) 01-05-2009, 08:06 AM

Hi Tim

Thank you I will check out the link. Cheryl I will still enjoy what ever I see and Nick thank you I will contact WW to get some advice.

Roy

pressld2 · #6 (**permalink**) 01-05-2009, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickCantle

I have a feeling that Jules (Wild-Woman) knows this area well. There was a WAB meet there not that long ago, so people will fill you in when they see this thread

And Jules is very kindly organising another meet there this year on the weekend of 1st/2nd August - see this thread: Thursley 2009 anyone?

Here's a link to page 9 of the thread for last year's meet (page 9 is where people got home and started uploading their pics): Thursley 2008

Dave P.

james bennet · #7 (**permalink**) 01-05-2009, 11:44 PM

Hi Roy,

HCT hold a number of survey days at Thursley in the summer which are great opportunities to get close to our reps, including smooth snakes (unless you think that's cheating!). Their website should have more details. I went to one at a nearby reserve and saw loads of smooth snakes and a couple of grassies too.

Wild-Woman · #8 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009, 04:49 AM

Hi Roy.I think the common is there to be discovered in your own time. Personally I could spend days there and still not see all of its secrets. On the Sunday of last year, we tried a different route out from the carpark and it really threw up some goodies. However,we've not seen Smooth Snake.
Two things to remember though (and this I hope,doesn't sound condescending) is to be very aware of where you walk as there's some fantastic plants like the sundew in the habitat, that can easily be trodden on as they're small and hidden low down in the heather. The other is to check yourself for ticks afterwards. They are there in the damp herbage. I believe one or 2 of the fellas found some on their 'person' on our first trip

.

Otherwise, I say stick to the pathways as much as possible and enjoy Thursley.

As others have said, I've posted the date for a trip there this year and it'd be good to see you if like to come along.

Let us know what you see....it'd be a good appetiser for August!

Have a great day.

Jules

camo · #9 (**permalink**) 02-05-2009, 08:51 AM

Hi Jules

Thank you, as I am interested in most things I do not have to rely on spotting a snake to enjoy myself. I will heed your warning with regard to the plants and let youi know what I find. However the more I look the more I am tempted to nip down to the Dorset Heath reserves. As I can get to Thursley earlier in the morning I will probably still go to Thursley. Roy

Kermit Power · #10 (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 03:48 PM

Hello all.

I just found this forum doing a google search on Thursley Common, hence my first post on here.

If the weather holds up tomorrow morning, I'm planning to take my 6yr old daughter and our cameras down there, ideally to find lizards and/or snakes warming up in the morning sun.

Personally, I'm happy spending an entire day trundling around looking for the right photos, but this would rather stretch the patience of a 6yr old, so I was wondering if anyone can recommend any particular spots to head for which are likely to give her things to get her teeth into quickly - pretty plants, nice landscapes, ponds, doesn't really matter what - she just likes having something good to point her camera at!

As you can probably tell, I've never been there, so apologies if the correct answer is "everywhere"!

pressld2 · #11 (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 04:25 PM

Hi Kermit and welcome to WAB!

I think the answer is pretty much everywhere but if I were visiting with a six-year-old I think I'd start with the pond right next to the car park, which should have ducks and coots and possibly a grey heron or two, and then head for the boardwalk. That's where we saw the most lizards basking and also where we found lots of sundew last year. We also found a newly emerged skipper butterfly, an emperor moth caterpillar and no end of dragon and damsel-flies there.

Have a good trip and post some pics up here when you're done!

Dave P.

Kermit Power · #12 (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 04:29 PM

That's great, Dave. Just the sort of answer I was hoping for! Thanks.

camo · #13 (**permalink**) 08-05-2009, 04:33 PM

Hi Kermit

I visited the common on Monday for two hours and again on Tuesday for 1 hour. It was quite daunting as it is a large place and I didn't find anyone who was particularly useful however I did glean a bit of information and can give you some pointers. The weather on Monday was poor with little sunshine and l never found any basking Lizard or Snake. If you park at the main car park you will be close to a lake which is under the shadows of neihbouring trees. I never found anythin g other than a few tame ducks on lake and I would walk past it. Take the path adjacent to the map and walk toward the common you will come out opposite a raised boardwalk. The boardwalk is about two hundred metres long and is the apparent hotspot for Lizards, sand and Common. Walk carefully and look well ahead, there is also a small section off to one side which is worth sitting for a while as it will catch the sun and offer a good undisturbed basking spot. I also understand you can see Adders either side of the boardwalk and I would keep an eye open on the sunny side in spots that do not catch the wind. Most bird watchers concentrate on this area so I suspect it gets busy. For a quieter spot if you turn left at board walk and follow sandy pathway this looks really good for Lizards and is protected from wind. I undersatnd this area is also very good for Dragonflys. Birds I saw included Hobbys, Tree Pippit, Curlews and Larks all at a a distance. found a number of Large Red Damsels, some small copper Butterflys and some Bog Beacon fungi. The reserve is interesting and very different from anything I know and I was left ith the impression it was much better than I saw. I did see a very nice Roe Deer buck but it was running disturbed by dogs and It was fairly easy to find suitable habitat for Reptile although a fire from several years ago has reduced some of the cover.

Good luck and I look forward to hearing how you get on.

Roy

Kermit Power · #14 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 07:11 PM

Well, we duly trundled off to Thursley this morning. It was pretty overcast for most of the time, so there probably weren't as many little reptilian beasties out as there might have been if there'd been sun for them to bask in.

No snakes of any description, but we did see a number of lizards (mostly on the boardwalk, so thanks for that tip) and a raft spider, which I was chuffed with, given that it dwarfs any other spider I've seen in this country.

I've put a few pics up on my Flickr account, but as I understand it, I'm not allowed to actually embed the images into here? If anyone wants to take a look, especially if you'd like to let me know what sort of lizards they are, please feel free!

Anyway, thanks for all the advice! We'll definitely be back there on the next sunny weekend.

aeshna5 · #15 (**permalink**) 09-05-2009, 08:50 PM

In my experience all the lizards on the boardwalk are Common Lizards, the immediate surroundings are not suitable for Sand lizards which occur elsewhere at Thursley.

camo · #16 (**permalink**) 10-05-2009, 08:29 AM

Hi KP

I checked out your pictures and yes they are all Common Lizards but that was more than I saw and nice pictures. The spider is really good well done.

I am not sure if you realise you can down load pictures in either the image library or the Gallery and then use them in your posts. There are already some good threads describing how to do it but if you have a problem let us know and someone will help.

Roy

Kermit Power · #17 (**permalink**) 10-05-2009, 09:10 AM

Thanks Roy!

The spider was a complete flirt, darting down between the boards just as we were in position to take a shot (the sideways view is actually vertical from above) and then coming back out again the second we moved away, without ever completely vanishing from view.

I did see the bit about the Gallery on here, but I really don't like the idea of granting complete freedom to do anything they wish with the pics. OK, it's hugely unlikely I'll ever manage to take anything with commercial value, but it just doesn't feel right!

camo · #18 (**permalink**) 10-05-2009, 09:29 AM

Hi KP

I had similar misgivings with passing on images but as you resize the files to say 500mb it makes the reuse of the images by anyone else worthless. If you want to check it out, get a picture which you like, resize it to say 250mb and save it to your own file. Then trying opening up your saved file etc and you will find any additional manipulation quickly looses the quality.

However do not worry if you do not want to post images we still value your input and look forward to further posts.

Roy