We are off and running with our new group; GlosARG!
Gloucestershire Amphibian and Reptile Group has been set up for the conservation of all our native reptiles and amphibians throughout Gloucestershire.
We are an affiliated group of ARG UK.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
If you would like to get involved, please contact us through one of the links below. We have a website, Facebook and Twitter pages, so you can easily get hold of us.
The feeling you get from knowing you have done something to conserve wildlife can not be beaten, so please get involved. It is fun, interesting and educational.
Get the kids involved and give them a passion, which will carry them well through life. What a feeling it would be to see your own children pass this gift onto your grandchildren!
We have only been running for a few weeks and in this time we have already discovered a "new" Great Crested Newt colony in the Forest of Dean.
These newts are endangered and protected by European law, so we couldn't have hoped for a better start!
You can reach us through the following links below.
GlosARG Website
Facebook
Twitter
ARG UK
Thank you in advance.
Rob
Showing posts with label lizard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lizard. Show all posts
Friday, 13 July 2012
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
A Trip Down South!
Along with a good friend (who was driving) I endured horrendous traffic, which meant it took four hours to reach our destination in Dorset and with heavy fog most of the way it appeared that we would probably be travelling back without the photographs we were after.
However, optimistic as always and nearing our location the sun broke through the fog and it turned into the perfect day for the rare reptile species we were after; the Sand Lizard!
NOTE: The Sand Lizard is protected under, Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (1994), and Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
With the help of some very trusting and friendly locals, it was only a few minuets before I was face to face with my first sand lizard. I must admit that I was shocked to have found one so quickly, but without the help of our local friends it would have taken a lot longer as they are so well camouflaged.
First find!
This was great, except it was not the best of shots due to the bush it was basking under, so we moved on.
I had never seen a sand lizard in the wild before, so as far as I was concerned this was about as good as it was going to get. How wrong I was as just around the corner our luck changed!
This fella was out in the open making the most of the blazing sun!
There were at least six lizards in one location and it was hard picking one to photograph.
The one thing that astounded me was the fact that they were all very curious and even came up to the camera!
The sand lizard, as mentioned above, is very rare and also extremely protected so the last thing I wanted to do was to disturb them. This concerned me on the way to Dorset, but I was gobsmacked at how relaxed these lizards were with our presence.
It's always nice to get two different species in one shot, but when I got up on this morning I couldn't of imagined that I would be photographing a sand lizard, with a ladybird walking around next to him!
We left this site and headed out onto some heathland where we saw a nice male adder. I missed this opportunity, but something even more special was just around the corner.
A male sand lizard!
We left the locals and headed to another spot where there was a chance of photographing another species, which I had not captured previously; Sika Deer.
Not knowing what to expect and ready for the stalk I followed my friend to some open grassy areas, surrounded by woodland. Now these deer are wild, they are not on an estate, or privately owned, so I was again wondering if we were going to succeed!
We spotted some on the edge of the woodland in the grassy area and proceeded to crawl towards them.
I photographed this fella at ground level and the blur in the foreground is grass.
At this point we were almost in the middle of the grassy area when a hind walked up to check us out!
Then two young stags started squaring up to one another!
As you can imagine, I took quite a few pics of these deer, but we still had one more place to visit before we left. The coast.
I'm not the best when it come to identifying birds, so if I have some of these wrong please let me know and I will correct.
And please note: Photo's taken from cliff top!
Bar-Tailed Godwit
Black-Headed Gull
Black-Winged Stilt
Little Egret
Not bad for 5 hours work!
Rob
However, optimistic as always and nearing our location the sun broke through the fog and it turned into the perfect day for the rare reptile species we were after; the Sand Lizard!
NOTE: The Sand Lizard is protected under, Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (1994), and Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
With the help of some very trusting and friendly locals, it was only a few minuets before I was face to face with my first sand lizard. I must admit that I was shocked to have found one so quickly, but without the help of our local friends it would have taken a lot longer as they are so well camouflaged.
First find!
This was great, except it was not the best of shots due to the bush it was basking under, so we moved on.
I had never seen a sand lizard in the wild before, so as far as I was concerned this was about as good as it was going to get. How wrong I was as just around the corner our luck changed!
This fella was out in the open making the most of the blazing sun!
There were at least six lizards in one location and it was hard picking one to photograph.
The one thing that astounded me was the fact that they were all very curious and even came up to the camera!
The sand lizard, as mentioned above, is very rare and also extremely protected so the last thing I wanted to do was to disturb them. This concerned me on the way to Dorset, but I was gobsmacked at how relaxed these lizards were with our presence.
It's always nice to get two different species in one shot, but when I got up on this morning I couldn't of imagined that I would be photographing a sand lizard, with a ladybird walking around next to him!
We left this site and headed out onto some heathland where we saw a nice male adder. I missed this opportunity, but something even more special was just around the corner.
A male sand lizard!
We left the locals and headed to another spot where there was a chance of photographing another species, which I had not captured previously; Sika Deer.
Not knowing what to expect and ready for the stalk I followed my friend to some open grassy areas, surrounded by woodland. Now these deer are wild, they are not on an estate, or privately owned, so I was again wondering if we were going to succeed!
We spotted some on the edge of the woodland in the grassy area and proceeded to crawl towards them.
I photographed this fella at ground level and the blur in the foreground is grass.
At this point we were almost in the middle of the grassy area when a hind walked up to check us out!
Then two young stags started squaring up to one another!
As you can imagine, I took quite a few pics of these deer, but we still had one more place to visit before we left. The coast.
I'm not the best when it come to identifying birds, so if I have some of these wrong please let me know and I will correct.
And please note: Photo's taken from cliff top!
Bar-Tailed Godwit
Black-Headed Gull
Black-Winged Stilt
Little Egret
Not bad for 5 hours work!
Rob
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Juvenile Adders
Below us a pic of a juvenile adder that I found and photographed earlier today.
She is one of last years offspring and very tiny. I nearly missed her and had to really stare before focussing on her.
Also a couple of lizards and a slow worm, plus a male adder with a female sneaking up on him!
.jpg)
She is one of last years offspring and very tiny. I nearly missed her and had to really stare before focussing on her.
Also a couple of lizards and a slow worm, plus a male adder with a female sneaking up on him!
.jpg)
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Filming Reptiles
A short film below from 21st March 2010. Reptiles in the Forest of Dean. This clip has been edited down from over 35min of footage. So not to disturb the reptiles, I focus my camera on them and move away, this way I capture their natural behaviour!
Hope you like?
Rob
Monday, 22 March 2010
Reptiles in the Forest of Dean
Today "terrible", but what a day yesterday? The sun was blazing and the reptiles were out dancing! .JPG)
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I counted 8 adders, at least 12 common lizards and a slow-worm in just one of my survey spots! Naturally I had the camera(s) with me and glad I did as I captured some of my best snake and lizard footage to date!
Safety in numbers! I think these adders are taking advantage of each others body heat?
I see you! This male was on the look out!
.JPG)
A melanistic male adder. How do I know he was a male? He was out of hibernation very early and one of the first adders I saw this year. The females emerge slightly later.
Notice that he has flattened his body. They do this to create a larger area so that they can absorb more heat from the sun.
A common lizard. Wherever you find the predators, you will find their prey not too far away!
.JPG)
Rob
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Adder Video Footage
Lovely weather for reptiles today at New Fancy, although too hazy to see the Gos. Saw three male adult adders, a juvenile female adder and a common lizard on the walk up to the viewpoint, see video footage of a male adder at the bottom of this post.
My best encounter of the day was with a Roe Deer Buck in Speech House woods, sorry for the blurry pic, but it was a grab shot, tried getting a little too close! See pic below. Wish I had filmed him now!
Male Adder Close Up
My best encounter of the day was with a Roe Deer Buck in Speech House woods, sorry for the blurry pic, but it was a grab shot, tried getting a little too close! See pic below. Wish I had filmed him now!
Roe Deer Buck
Male Adder Close Up
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