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1st mating ball of 2008 |
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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Posted: 03 Apr 2008 at 11:34am |
Hi guys, Spotted first mating ball fo the year today, 10am 14 deg C full sun, five members taking part at Holyfield Lake. Also viv looking very hungry by the folds in its skin |
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RobV
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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heres the hungry liz
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RobV
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arvensis
Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 Location: Hampshire Status: Offline Points: 493 |
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Its a bit on the early side isn't it?? A Grassie is the only reptile I haven't seen this year but I never do have much luck with finding them.
Mark |
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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Mark hi, Well, I'm hoping that the sudden turn to cold again hasn't killed the group in the photo. I mean thursday, tee shirt weather, then snow on the sunday, its mad. This has been the strangest March/April that I can remember. Rob |
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RobV
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AGILIS
Senior Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1689 |
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Great pics Rob all I can see at moment is sloworms more than usual weird Keith
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LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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hey Keith, thanks mate. You know what? I saw another pair of grasssies mating today and it was bloody freezing in the wind. Amazing and weird indeed. It was that cold that my lens became very stiff in manual op - no exageration. Slow worms are worth seeing though, I haven't caught sight of one of those this year. Rob |
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RobV
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Suzi
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1025 |
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Rob, What sort of terrain do you see all these grassies in? I rarely see grass snakes except under tins. |
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Suz
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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Suz, Its difficult to quantify really. Like you said in another post somewhere about the new forest, they turn up in the most surprising of places, but if I had to point to one common feature in all, its mainly where its difficult to get to. Somewhere where the average dog walker is not going to go - and lets face it, theres not many of those places is there. i remember I was waliking through EF once and was going through heavy wooded area just so that I could get to another more open site at Connaught Waters, when I saw a solitary fallen log in a sun trap between trees covered in old bracken and moss and some grass and a single holly bush and a rabbits burrow beneath the log. As I went to walk past it, there were eight grass snakes in a ball! How they all got there and found each other is anyones guess ( I suupose their scent does carry a bit! lol), so get off the beaten track and mind your shins, those bloody brambles are murder! Rob |
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RobV
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Suzi
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1025 |
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Yes off the beaten track. When my brother is here we are all over the place looking for snakes but we still don't have much luck with grass snakes. Hope this is a better year for us.
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Suz
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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Suz, if you see one slide off, remember where you saw it, walk off and keep searching, but then come back to the exact same place in an hour or two, but creep in from a different direction. Try and keep the breeze so it comes over the place where you saw it before it blows to you. As you probably know they have an amazing sense of smell, but you can fool them. I get scratched up a lot and I don't get close up shots, but, I get near enough to see whats going on. |
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RobV
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