Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group

KRAG News

First Adder of the Year?

Written by Mike Phillips
Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:09
With all the snow and extremely cold weather that we have had this winter we weren't really expecting any early records this year. However, this week's milder conditions have obviously tempted some animals out from their hibernacula. This week KRAG received a phone call from Conservation Partners, White Cliffs Countryside Partnership who had been sent details of an adder sighting at The Folkestone Warren on January 14th. Can anybody beat this?

KRAG Supports Pond Creation at Pierland Wood

Written by Mike Phillips
Sunday, 24 October 2010 11:33
KRAG has just made a financial donation to support the contruction of three new ponds at Pierland Wood near Ruckinge. The woodland is owned by KRAG volunteers Chris and Susan Gove who were keen to create new ponds to support the amphibian and grass snake populations within the wood. With the help of volunteers (and a digger!) three new ponds were added to an area that supports grass snake, frogs, toads and smooth and palmate newts. KRAG was particularly pleased to support this project, especially as this area is close to the edge of palmate newt distribution in the county and these new ponds will help to reinforce these marginal populations. KRAG will happily support the creation of ponds for amphibians so do contact us if you require donations to pond creation projects.

KRAG Goes Wild

Written by Mike Phillips
Sunday, 03 October 2010 18:06
Last weekend saw KRAG take part in the county's biggest wildlife recording event at Dunorlan Park. Kent Goes Wild is an annual event that brings together all of Kent's recording groups and KRAG were there in full effect. Thanks to the efforts of our Events Officer, Jo, we now have great facilities for these kind of family friendly events. We would also like to take this opportunity to thanks all the KRAG volunteers who helped out at the event and made it such a success. Next stop is the Kent Angling Show at the County Showground in Detling on the 9th & 10th October. There must be some anglers out there who have seen toads and grass snakes!

Strangely Shaped Slow-worm

Written by Mike Phillips
Sunday, 12 September 2010 19:15
We are very grateful to KRAG member, Jason Armstrong, for sending us this fascinating photo of a slow-worm that he found in Deal. This strangely shaped animal has been seen several times and appears completely untroubled by this bizarre deformation. So what is the cause of this particular shaping? The truth is that we simply don't know. A theory about the way that the slow-worm formed inside the mother has been put forward. However, if you have seen something like this or have an idea of the cause please do let us know.

Rowan Atkinson Spotted in Bredhurst

Written by Mike Phillips

Thursday, 09 September 2010 18:06

OK, so we didn't really see Rowan Atkinson in Bredhurst but at least it got your attention and we did see a black adder. Last Sunday KRAG led a reptile ramble with one of our Conservation Partners, Bredhurst Woodland Action Group. Over 20 people were present as we took a ramble through the glorious Kent Downs countryside. The weather was perfect for spotting reptiles in an area that used to see a lot of fly tipping and illegal off road activity but is now being actively managed for wildlife by Bredhurst Woodland Action Group (BWAG).

The highlight of the day was finding a black adder openly basking in some rough grassland just outside a horse paddock. These melanistic adders, whilst not common, are relatively abundant in some adder populations and Bredhurst is one of two sites in Kent where black adders are seen frequently.