Saturday 30 June 2012

"New" Gloucestershire ARG

With a friend I have started a new amphibian and reptile conservation group in the Forest of dean, Gloucestershire.
This group is called GlosARG and we are an affiliated group of ARG UK.

Our aim is to.....

Raise awareness
Recruit volunteers
Survey Gloucestershire
Manage existing habitats
Create new habitats
Achieve protection status on existing and new habitats
See Gloucestershire recognised as a special place for Herptile Conservation

This isn't going to happen overnight and it isn't going to be easy, but with our passion, focus and some much needed help, I am sure we can achieve our goals.
Until now Gloucestershire did not have a ARG group, so Scott and I decided to change this and show the world the wonders of this special place.
Please contact me if you would like to help. We will be organising walks, talks as well as teaching volunteers how to survey all the magnificent amphibians and reptiles we have in Gloucestershire.

ARG Website

Follow us on...
Twitter
Facebook


As well as many other species, these are just some of the amphibians and reptiles we will be surveying and looking after throughout Gloucestershire.


Great Crested Newt



Adder



Grass Snake



Common Lizard



Toads


Frogs


Rob

Thursday 21 June 2012

Swans and 7 Cygnets - Video

In 2010 on a local pond, two swans successfully reared 7 cygnets. I filmed them over a two hour period and you can see the end result here.
If you like swans, especially cygnets then you will love this as it is truly mesmerising and beautiful.


Sorry about the quality, but I had to convert from MPEG2 to AVI as the file was too large in MPEG format.




Rob

Friday 15 June 2012

Adder Kiss!

Do you like snakes? If yes then this video is a must see for you.

I have included information throughout, but here is a brief description of events.

I always take my Canon SLR and video camera while surveying as I like to record my sightings in this way as well as by notes. On this occasion I decided to film this male adder as he was preparing to slough (shed his skin) and when they are in this state, it is easier to get close up footage. However, what I didn't anticipate is that he would actually approach me and as I was lying on the ground, supporting my camera with my elbows on the ground, I had to make a hasty retreat!

Basically his vision was impaired and he probably picked up on the heat coming from my camera and my hands.
Anyway, watch the video  and let me know what you think.





Rob