Welsh Mountain Zoo composting area, Aesculapian snake egg laying site.
Location of Welsh Mountain Zoo.
Author: Steve Langham
Date: 14-20th September 2006
Aim of trip: To find the location of the introduced Aesculapian snake, and to visit the Sefton Coast with the aspiration of sighting and photographing Natterjack Toads and Mersey-race Sand lizards.
In the 1970s a gravid female Aesculapian snake escaped from the Welsh Mountain Zoo at Colwyn Bay. Over 30 years later, there is still an established wild population of Aesculapian snakes in and around the Zoo grounds. Link to News story
Having contacted, Peter Litherland (Head keeper at the Zoo), Dr Wolfgang Wuster (School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor) and Wolfgang's student studying the snakes; Dylan Davenport, I realised that September was gong to be too late in the year for a good chance of a sighting, but the trip would provide useful reconnaissance for the following season.
Unfortunately we got a later start to the journey than planned (something to do with my girlfriend reversing her car into the garage without opening the garage door!), and it turned out that the day we visited the Zoo was Peter's day off. Without our guide, we wandered around this charming zoo, heading vaguely in the direction of the reptile house. The one member of staff in the reptile house knew of the snakes, but could provide no additional information. The Welsh Mountain Zoo is a beautiful place set in glorious scenery, and was worth the trip regardless of our apparent disappointment.
A chance meeting with a young keeper at the Andean Condor enclosure gave us our first break. He was very keen and knowledgeable about the zoo's Aesculapian snake population and furnished us with the following advice: No snakes had been sighted for 5 weeks, and it was generally accepted that they had already entered into hibernation. Most sightings occurred at the compost heaps by the zoo exit, and it was assumed that it was in these heaps that the snakes laid their eggs. One snake is known to inhabit the Alligator house!
Welsh Mountain Zoo composting area, Aesculapian snake egg laying site.
Location of Welsh Mountain Zoo.
There was no sign of snakes at the composting site, but tins had been laid (all non-occupied). No luck this trip, but we'll be back upto North Wales in the late Spring!
The next stop was the Sefton coast at Ainsdale Avoiding the £3 beach car parking fee, we chose a small side road and happened to park next to the Ainsdale Wildlife Ranger headquarters. We decided to introduce ourselves, and after they had requested and inspected my English Nature licence, the staff were extremely helpful in identifying the best areas to see both Sand lizards and Natterjacks. The weather was not ideal, and the Sand dunes were much harder going on foot than the firm heathland I'm used to in Surrey! Having spent a couple of hours with only Common lizards sighted, we decided to try the coastline for Natterjacks. The very first item of refugia we uncovered (a piece of driftwood) produced a Natterjack toad, hunkered well into the sand.
First Natterjack sighting
Location of Ainsdale.
We wandered the shoreline for an hour or so, and every piece of refuse which was more than a foot square, seemed to produce another Natterjack! One large piece (about the size of a small fridge door) produced five natterjacks and a mouse.
The Sand dunes at Sefton seem to form a series of ridges, parallel to the coastline. The molinia-tussock covered dunes provide shelter and a home for the food source of the animals. Between the dune ridges are a series of freshwater ponds, which the amphibians use for breeding, and also attract even greater numbers of insects as a food source.
The Sand dunes at Sefton.
Natterjack toad, showing the distinctive dorsal stripe.
We were told by the rangers that the Natterjacks were particularly fond of the sand hoppers found on the beach. As the tide comes in, these sand hoppers retreat further up the beach, to meet a waiting line of Natterjacks. After some time, we decided to return to the car, via a route deeper into the dunes. In this area, we found Natterjack toadlets and a large number of Smooth newts (in terrestrial phase), all under refugia.
A Natterjack toadlet found under refugia.
Good numbers of Smooth newt were evident.
Despite seeing more Common lizards (Viviparous lizards as the rangers call them, as they are not so 'common' in that area), we failed to spot any Sand lizards. The weather was very windy, but even with better conditions, I'd noticed that Sand lizards were becoming harder to spot the previous week back in Surrey. We had expected to see at least some juveniles, but the rangers confirmed that juvenile Sand lizard numbers appeared to be very low this year. Nobody is sure of the reasons why this should be so.
To conclude; although we saw fewer animals than we would have liked, what we saw was reasonable for the weather conditions and the time of year. The trip provided a great reconnaissance opportunity, and a nice break from work. I hope to revisit the North West around Easter next year.