Thanks, some useful info! Basically my goal is to see what species of reptiles I can record in my direct area, almost like a mini SARCA expedition
. I detail everything I find, even have a list of all the birds, mammals,plants and fish I have seen in the vicinity of my property
Being mistaken for a wrong do-er is my biggest concern indeed. On previous occasions when looking for wildlife, I have been stopped by the Police investigating why I'm driving so slow, but usually a explanation sorted this out. Also some people seem a bit trigger happy so I'm always aware of the attention I might get.
@Ales, the reason I said oddly, is I find quite many reptiles in the area just by chance, so its kind of weird not finding any when specifically looking for them... I have been driving these roads for ages in search of all kinds of animals but just want to shift my attention more to reptiles,as I have recorded most birds and other animals to be found in the area,but the reptile list is not so up-to-date
@BV:As a personal rule to myself, I never handle/try to catch any snake if I am unable to identify it, I have seen the results of this,ouch! I don't even free handle Heralds or other mildly venomous snakes and always use a hook or something similar these days. My friends think i'm a wuss for that, but I think its good protocol.
My commonsense tells me that windy nights/days wont deliver good results? Also some people say that going late at night is a good thing, I would think that from 15h00 up to 20h00 is best,but that's totally an assumption, whats other members take on this?
I'd like to go see what reptiles the Onderstepoort Nature Reserve has to offer, but getting in touch with the people who gives permission seemed pointless. Anyone on this forum know who to contact perhaps?
Some species of snake I have found over the years on my property:
Dispholidus typus (only once, never again
)
Lamprophis capensis
Lycodonomorphus rufulus
Naja annulifera
Philothamnus semivariegatus
Dasypeltis scabra
Psammophylax tritaeniatus
Psammophis brevirostris
Leptotyphlops sp.
Bitis arietans arietans
Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia
Lizards:
Lygodactylus capensis
Mabuya striata striata
Chamaeleo dilepis
Hemidactylus mabouia
Panaspis wahlbegii
Varanus niloticus
I'd love to add much more!
If you take into account what BV said opening his post,"so you only see them on it when they are trying to cross them and the window of opportunity is gone again", it makes sense what you say TonyK. Maybe it would be more rewarding focusing on one stretch of road rather than trying to cover all the roads in one night.