Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK
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 Topic: RAUK Wall Lizard Experiment Webpage
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Vicar
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| Posted: 03 March 2007 at 7:25pm | IP Logged
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Folks,
I've completed version 1 of the RAUK Wall lizard experiment
webpage, which will be used to gather information on, and to monitor Wall
lizard colonies in the UK.
Its 3 months later than I had hoped, but I did massively underestimate the
amount of work required.
There are bound to be omissions and errors, so I'd be grateful for all additions and corrections.
I hope to keep this thread fairly focused on adding to this webpage resource,
but experience tells me this is a forlorn hope :P Wall lizards are bound to be out of hibernation by now, so please visit your local site and provide feedback on this thread !
Wall lizard webpage
The design is optimised for Firefox, but should work with internet explorer. I'll tart it up to look nice across all browsers/platforms as I go along.
Edited by Vicar on 03 March 2007 at 7:27pm
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Steve Langham - Chairman 
Surrey Amphibian & Reptile Group (SARG).
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Vicar
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| Posted: 09 March 2007 at 10:02am | IP Logged
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For more complicated reasons than I can explain here...Yesterday I found myself to be driving past both Burford, and Kidbrooke. Both potential colonies for Wall lizards:
Burford:
Although I didn't have time to enter the Cotswold Wildlife Park, I did have time to skirt its perifery. There are very many dry-stone walls in the area, many of which have good vegetation around them and are south facing. No Pms were seen, but I assume that the Pm colony is originally within the park, perhaps in the 'Walled garden'. If anybody has seen the colony at Burford, I'd be grateful of a more exact location.
Kidbrooke:
Often quoted as being based upon the old MoD/RAF Depot at Kidbrooke, this colony is far more likely to be on the adjacent Birdbrooke nature reserve. This is a very small reserve, comprising of meduim-height scrub, ponds, bramble thickets and a few courses of brickwork from a demolished house. The reserve is managed by the London Wildlife Trust, and is extremely secure! (I tried to get in and failed miserably). I am familiar with that part of London, having grown up closeby, and if they know how to do one thing well in that part of the world..its secure fencing! There is a nearby old-brick railway bridge which may have provided additional habitat in the past. Clearly such a closeby railway offers habitat corridor opportunities. Again, no lizards seen, but locals refer to a high rat population, cats were present, as was a single adult male fox. The same reserve is believed to support tree frogs (historic?present?) and GCN.
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Steve Langham - Chairman
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Vicar
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| Posted: 12 March 2007 at 4:47pm | IP Logged
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Just Back from a couple of days on the Isle of Wight....
Ventnor:
Very, very many wall lizards about, I made a start with surveying their extent. About half the lizards sighted were hatchlings. Probably saw in excess of 100 individuals. A rough back of the envelope calculation, working on observed densities, estimated habitat useage and estimated range, puts the estimated population for the colony well into four figures.
Earliest documented existance of the colony is 1961, however, I took the opportunity to have lenghty converstaions with Ventnorians of the appropriate age, and I am totally convinced that the Ventnor colony is at least as old as the Farnham introduction.
Many locals remember playing with the lizards as children, in the 1930s. One reliable source could place them in the mid 1930s, and added details such as their tails shedding when caught, and them laying eggs under paving stones.
A local story heard more than once as a 'creation myth' for want of a better expression is that a foreign (possibly Italian) ship wrecked close by ventnor, and some lizards escaped from the cargo.
Many many pictures, some of which I'll post on the web page...tomorrow.
Edited by Vicar on 13 March 2007 at 9:41am
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Steve Langham - Chairman
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Vicar
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| Posted: 16 March 2007 at 9:13am | IP Logged
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Wall lizards are very active already !
Should anybody fancy a trip out this weekend to check on their local colony, all feedback would be very welcome !
A reminder of locations:
Buckinghamshire
East Burnham Common
Devon
Paignton
Chaplin Estate (Blackawton?)
Unknown
Dorset
Portland (Duncecroft Quarry)
Poole Cliffs
Boscombe (Portman Ravine)
Dancing Ledge
Winspit Quarry
Durlston Castle
Hampshire
Holmsley
Unknown
Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight (Ventnor Town)
Isle of Wight (Other)
Kent
Little Switzerland (Folkestone)
London
Kidbrooke
Hampton Wick
Oxfordshire
Burford (Cotswold Wildlife Park?)
Shropshire
Ludlow
Somerset
Wellington
Stogumber
Surrey
Farnham Castle
Newdigate
Nutfield
Sussex
Shoreham-by-Sea
Further details available at: Wall lizard colony web page
Or mail me/ask on this thread. Not all sites have public access. The continued existance of lizards at all sites is not known. But, by visiting a site, you could find out !
Cheers, Steve
Edited by Vicar on 16 March 2007 at 9:52am
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GemmaJF
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| Posted: 16 March 2007 at 11:33pm | IP Logged
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Steve, you should get a forwarded copy of an interesting record that has been sent in regarding one of the sites above.
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Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant
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Vicar
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| Posted: 19 March 2007 at 4:35pm | IP Logged
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Thanks Gemma, I got that one ! 
Chaplin Estate - Devon
A bit of a break-through regarding the Devon colony at the Chaplin Estate:... I can confirm the location is Wadstray House at Blackawton. A neighbour who has written a history of the House managed to take notes of an interview with Viscount Chaplin's widow before she died.
"I can confirm that Viscount Chaplin owned Wadstray House
and about 11 acres of land. I have seen the deeds. He bought it at the end of
1951 and lived there until he died in 1981. It was then sold in 1982. He was
also a keen gardener and plantsman and planted a number of exotic tree and
shrubs. His widow told me that he introduced a colony of Italian wall lizards
which thrived and multiplied and aslo had a collection of snakes, lizards and
frogs as well as an aviary."
The introduction is dated as 1954, so little doubt that this is indeed the location. On a more negative note, the current gardener has never seen any lizards on the site.
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Suzi
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| Posted: 19 March 2007 at 5:16pm | IP Logged
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I know this area slightly from driving through it so I just might be able to have a poke about this summer. I had already looked and found some stuff about it from the Internet. I'll let you know if I manage to find anything.
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Suz
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