Essex amphibian and reptile records update
David Scott Court Hill, Church Lane, Little Leighs, Chelmsford CM3 1PG &
Jonathan Cranfield 14 Wiltshire Road, Eastleigh S053 3EZ
A big thank you goes to all the Essex Field Club members that have responded so far to
the request for Herpetofauna records in Essex (Essex Field Club Newsletter No 40 page
18). As reported in the newsletter article there were around 354 Amphibian records and
216 reptile records for the county.
David Scott has received quite a few records over the last two seasons and since the
request was published (see table 1).
Table 1: Summary of the total number of Essex herpetofauna records and records collated
in the 2001/2002-survey season.
Species
Common Frog Rana temporaria
Smooth Newt Triturus vulgaris
Great Crested Newt Triturus cristatus
Common Toad Bufo bufo
Grass Snake Natrix natrix
Viviparous Lizard Lacerta vivipara
Slowworm Anguis fragilis
Adder Vipera berus
Palmate Newt Triturus helveticus
TOTAL
A total of 863 amphibian records and 416 reptile records have been collated for Essex
from the Essex Field Club and Essex Amphibian and Reptile Group herpetofauna
databases. A good piece of news is that the number of known Great Crested Newt sites
has increased from 187 (Froglife, 2001) to 228 an increase of 22%. This is a good step
towards establishing the 'true distribution of the species by 2005' (Thompson 1999)
which is a key target in the Essex Biodiversity Action Plan.
An exciting site is located in Hawkwell, Rochford where there is possibly, the largest
colony of Great Crested Newts in Essex (Foster, J Per's corns). 211 adult newts were
counted, at night, on the 21 st April 2000. A torch survey carried out by Louis Lawler on
the 30"'April 2001 revealed 114+ adults. The count was achieved in difficult conditions
(low water & high vegetation) it was felt that the count didn't reflect the actual number
(Lawler, 2001). The estimate for the population is between 1000 (Lawler, 2001) and
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 41, May 2003
11