After nearly being blown off Folkestone Warren this morning, KRAG members Michael Chalkley and Mike Phillips took a trip to a new monitoring site for KRAG just outside Hawkinge.  The site is managed by KRAG Conservation Partners the White Cliffs Countryside Project and we were joined by staff from the project to set some tin and felt refugia on this old reservoir which had been highlighted as a possible reptile site.

The weather had warmed slightly and the sun was coming through the clouds.  In a sheltered spot at the junction of the grassland and scrub Michael spotted a male adder basking in the weak sun.  As you can see from the picture of a female adder, nobody remembered to bring a camera.  Curses.  This is the first adder record to hit the KRAG database for 2010.  Can anybody beat this?

At this time of year some of you may just be considering eating and watching TV slightly more than usual.  Why not combine a passion for overeating, the couch potato lifestyle and herpetology by tuning into National Geographic Wild UK (if you are lucky enough to have it) at 4.00pm on 30th December.

They will be showing "Frogs, The Thin Green Line" which highlights the plight that amphibians are facing worldwide and why we should, justifiably, be concerned about their future.  You can find out more details about the programme here.

From all here at KRAG, we wish you a very merry Christmas and look forward to a fantastic 2010.  Let's all make a new year's resolution to go out and get involved in recording and conserving our amazing native herpetofauna.