We had a very relaxing morning led around Cowden Pastures KWT reserve by its former Hon. Warden and KRAG member Terry Mullender.  Then after a picinic lunch in the grounds of St Andrew’ Convent we visited land adjacent to nearby Waystrode Manor to follow up on an adder sighting of two years previously.

Cowden is a 6 hectare neutral/marshy grassland site that slopes down to an stream surrounded by an attractive bluebell wood.  There is a good grass snake and slow worm population, some of which were in evidence during our visit.  One of the areas of the reserve had been very heavily grazed by sheep, part of KWT’s programme to upgrade the grassland, but has left little cover of any sort so that it is of no use to reptiles.  Other areas have retained their character and we had fun turning the tin refuges.  These have been in place for several years and have proved a good source of records for the KRAG database.  The damper lower border provided an array of plants typical of moister habitats and a profusion of interesting insects, we managed to get shots of Chrysolina polista and a scorpion fly.  This area has a pond that unfortunately no longer retains water and Terry suggested some work that could be done to open the area a little and create a new and more effective water body – perhaps as part of the ‘Million Ponds Project’.  The land around Waystrode Manor, which is right on the Kent/East Sussex border, made an interesting walk but didn’t provide any herptile observations.

KRAG field days always turn up something of interest, not necessarily to do with herptiles.  This time at Cowden we stumbled on a group of young male fallow deer and in our car park found a Lagonda.  This was the much loved car of a 79 year old enthusiast who kindly spent 45 minutes telling us about the car’s provenance and explaining the modification he had made that exceeded Aston Martin’s specifications.

At this time of year when you might be considering moving frog spawn between ponds, the KRAG Committee would like to remind members about potential problems with Chytrid fungus disease (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). The status of this fungal disease and its affect on the wider population of amphibians throughout the UK is unknown.  It would therefore be wise to avoid moving spawn from site to site as it might be carrying Chytrid or other pathogens.

Please leave the spawn where you find it. Chytrid is especially difficult to control, if at all, and we do not want to be the reason for further spread of the disease within the UK unwittingly or otherwise.

Further information about Chytrid is available on the Herpetological Conservation Trust website.

Frogs are 'explosive' breeders and often produce what may appear to be 'too much' spawn.  Mortality rates of tadpoles and young frogs are especially high so do not worry about this.  Population levels of amphibians can fluctuate dramatically but this is normally just a natural process. 

Another reason for not moving spawn is that it is impossible to say with certainty whether the pond you move spawn to is actually suitable for frogs.  Fish, newts, other predators and environmental conditions can all contribute to frogs deciding not to spawn in a particular pond.  Let's respect their decision.

KRAG have just made a donation of £500 to Pond Conservation's Million Ponds Project Digging Fund. The Millions Ponds Project is co-ordinated by Pond Conservation and aims to reverse the tragic pond loss that has occurred over the last 100 years or so.  The importance of ponds as a key habitat for many species, not just amphibians, has been recognised recently with ponds being added to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan's list of priority habitats.  As the lead body for this habitat, Pond Conservation have applied for funding through the Biffaward scheme to fund pond creation schemes throughout England and Wales.

By donating £500, KRAG will enable the Million Ponds Project to claim another £4500 from Biffaward to fund badly needed ponds.  So a relatively small donation from KRAG will help make big changes at a landscape level.  We are now busy identifying sites for ponds that will help safeguard amphibian metapopulations in Kent and propose these for funding from the project.

KRAG's series of training events for Getting Toads Out of a Hole is now well underway with training workshops having taken place in Sevenoaks and Ashford with one more left this coming Sunday in Maidstone. 

Participants in the project have learnt about amphibian ecology and identification as well as how to record important habitat information about ponds.  Separate sessions on amphibian survey techniques and outdoor survey sessions were then held.

On Sunday in the Ashford area participants were lucky enough to find all five of Kent's native amphibian species at two separate ponds.

This training is taking place as part of KRAG's new major recording project called Getting Toads Out of a Hole.  The aim of the project is to encourage the recording of all amphibian species with particular emphasis on toads which are severely under-recorded in Kent.  If you have seen any amphibians don't forget to tell us about them using the online recording form.

Not Rowan Atkinson this time but one of the melanistic adders that are sometimes found living amongst our own 'normal' populations of adder.  This one was spotted by KRAG member Kevin Johnson who had these observations to make. 

The weather was warming up and with a sunny day forecast I thought it was worth a look around Bredhurst for emerging reptiles. I managed to locate 5 adders that were basking between midday and early afternoon.

The first individual found was a black adder, presumably male, that was somewhat muddy around the head and obviously recently emerged. I have seen this adder 3 years running now but it moves off by the end of March and cannot be located again by me until the following Spring.

Another individual found about half a mile away was more pristine in appearance, probably because its chosen hibernation spot was a drier chalky bank.