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Make
The Adder Count (MTAC) |
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A
springtime adder survey |
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| Can you help monitoring adders? | ||
Make
the Adder Count is a survey co-ordinated by The
Herpetological Conservation Trust. Following a successful pilot
project in 2005,
we plan to turn it into a long-term national surveillance programme,
collating data from many sites, to monitor trends in adder populations. |
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The
adder is a reptile of particular
conservation concern to many people. Although it is Britain’s most
widespread snake, there is a strong body of collective information
pointing towards long-term national decline. |
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| Make the Adder Count aims to: | |||
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Provide quantitative data to monitor trends in population status. | ||
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Strengthen the case for better protection and guide proactive conservation. | ||
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Provide a yardstick against which to measure the effectiveness of any future conservation effort. | ||
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Create a focus for local survey and conservation work. | ||
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Raise awareness of adder conservation issues. | ||
| How you can help | ||
We
want to gain a measure of national population status by counting adders
after their springtime emergence from winter hibernacula. At this
time of year (February to May, depending on weather and geographical
location) adders are at their most visible, lying out, sometimes in
aggregations. |
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If
you or your colleagues regularly visit an adder hibernation/aggregation
site, or know of a site where you could arrange visits, then a simple
count of snakes could help us to help the adder. |
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If
you already have data on the numbers of adders you have seen at a
particular site (or sites) over past years, we would also be interested
to hear from you. |
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| What sort of experience you need? | ||
Gathering
data for this project does require a good working knowledge of at
least one local adder population, familiarity with adder activity
patterns and experience of observing these snakes. If you do not have
the necessary experience, but want to get involved in either Make
the Adder Count or other reptile (or amphibian) survey work, then
we recommend that you contact your nearest
amphibian
and reptile group. These groups are local sources of reptile expertise
and may be able to provide the necessary training or organise counts. |
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| How to take part | ||
| To take part in the project, or to obtain further information, please contact the project co-ordinator, John Baker: |
| Phone: | (01986) 872016 | ||
| Mobile: | (07884) 441521 | ||
| Email: | addercount@herpconstrust.org.uk | ||
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