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How about an in-situ shot?

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JamesM View Drop Down
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    Posted: 18 Mar 2012 at 6:07pm

At an undisclosed location:

 
A nice male.
 
 
Not a brilliant photo, but a brilliant find.
 
A better imagine taken by a friend:
 
 
 
 
 
We managed to take some pictures without disturbing the animal, which was an added bonus. And yes, I was accompanied by survey licence holders.
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AGILIS View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AGILIS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 7:02am
Hi James when was this taken &were where you herping Surrey hants or Dorset?no need for exact location as I know most sites,Yes all shots I take are in situ .thats why its a good idea to get a Zoom lens so you can stay back a bit without alerting them.with all my years of Sand lizard & smooth snake watching I still miss out on good shots .as they always come into sight when least expected Keith

Edited by AGILIS - 29 Mar 2012 at 7:04am
   LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID
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JamesM View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JamesM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 10:31am
All I am going to say, is on the Hampshire/Surrey border. I'll give you a brief description of the site:

Basically, you have a country lane. On one side is heathland, with a small pond that is home to newts. It's surrounded by heather and the occasional nasty Gorse bush. To get on to the site, you have to walk down a sandy slope.....quite the pain in the rear when you aren't wearing walking boots....LOL. The other side of that country lane, is a nature reserve. The site is often frequented by army personnel driving 4WD's.....perfect terrain for it.

This is the same site where Mark (arvensis) showed me my very first Adder, a young female back in July last year.


Edited by JamesM - 29 Mar 2012 at 10:36am
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JamesM View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JamesM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 10:41am
The only thing that does my head in, is I can't go looking for these on my own as I don't have a licence!
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AGILIS View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AGILIS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 3:45pm
James no one can stop you looking I have for near 50 years whilst idiotic clearing policies of nat eng and golf courses keep ruining habitat keep looking.keith

Edited by AGILIS - 29 Mar 2012 at 3:48pm
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JamesM View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JamesM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 3:54pm
I believe the nature reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Sand Lizards are on a site literally just a road crossing away, and if I remember correctly, it's illegal to survey/field herp for protected species on a SSSI without a survey licence, unless you're accompanied by licence holders. I could be wrong, however. I haven't actually checked out the reserve, but I believe Mark has. If Sandies occur just across the road, then I have no reason to doubt that they'll be next door as well.


I'd love to get licensed, but I can't get to the Sand Lizard/Smooth snake sites on a regular basis, so I don't know what ARC's stand point would be on that.
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JamesM View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JamesM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 3:55pm
Ah, I've just seen your edited post.


Well, if NE can't show a good example, why should anybody else? I care a lot about herps and herp conservation, and if a governing body is willing to screw the animals over, then it doesn't look good for their future.
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Hawley View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hawley Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 4:45pm
James, why not join SARG and get yourself a license. I'm sure that Vicar would help you out.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 7:32pm
There are two arguments to this:

On the one hand, as Keith says nobody can stop you looking

On the other, it is an offence to disturb sand lizards

So there is the choice, personally if I was going to go out specifically looking for them, I might think I was likely to disturb them. (I would want to take pictures and not be worried someone was looking over my shoulder).

It is not all that difficult to get licensed or find a licence holder so I would go that way. At least then you can do pretty much what you want without worrying about it.

PS get some walking boots too! Wink


Edited by GemmaJF - 29 Mar 2012 at 7:37pm
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JamesM View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JamesM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Mar 2012 at 7:39pm
Originally posted by GemmaJF GemmaJF wrote:

There are two arguments to this:

On the one hand, as Keith says nobody can stop you looking

On the other, it is an offence to disturb sand lizards

So there is the choice, personally if I was going to go out specifically looking for them, I might think I was likely to disturb them. (I would want to take pictures and not be worried someone was looking over my shoulder).

It is not all that difficult to get licensed or find a licence holder so I would go that way. At least then you can do pretty much what you want without worrying about it.

And that is where it gets complicated.

You can be committing an offence simply by walking passed a sand lizard, and the animal runs for cover. That is classed as a disturbance.

In my opinion, it's best to avoid sand lizard sites completely until I am licensed, or with licensed surveyors, for the simple reason that it can potentially cause me grief that I really do not want, especially at this stage in my life where I am trying to build networks for a career in herpetology.


Edited by JamesM - 29 Mar 2012 at 7:41pm
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