NARRS - Reptile habitat guide

Reptile Habitat Guide
This photo-guide is intended to serve as a reference aid for NARRS surveyors participating in the
National Reptile Survey.
Key things to consider when assessing habitat suitability for reptiles:
• Vegetation structure – ideal reptile habitat has a variable structure with a mixture of
vegetation heights, tangled or thorny areas, mosaics, bare patches, lots of edges
(‘ecotones’) and good basking places.
• Extent – must be big enough area to support a population. Small habitat patches can be
sufficient for lizards, whereas snakes need larger areas (although grass snakes can cross
unsuitable habitat).
• Aspect – sunny, sheltered locations, unshaded, south-facing
• Topography - undulating topography, banks, hummocks, hollows, south-facing slopes;
generally not north-facing slopes.
• Connectivity – essential to allow colonisation when habitat is created, and recolonisation
after local extinctions. For example, if an area of good habitat is surrounded by intensive
arable farmland, reptiles might not be able to colonise it.
• History – habitat that has been recently created might look deceptively good, but it takes
time for reptiles to colonise, and there must be connectivity with neighbouring areas where
they are present.
Reptiles are most widely distributed on large areas of habitat such as heathland, moorland, rough
grassland, and sand dunes, but they are often present locally in a range of other land covers.
Ideal land covers may include railways and disused railway lines, roadside embankments and
verges, churchyards/cemeteries, allotments, derelict/brownfield areas, neglected/overgrown land,
rough pasture, scrubland, quarries, ‘wasteland’, woodland glades and forest rides. Localised
features and the right vegetation structure are important. Look out for are areas of scrub, long
grass, tussocky grass, gorse, bramble, dense herbage, canal and riverbanks, undulating
topography, banks, hollows, varied height structure, uneven edges, vegetation mosaics, brash
piles, log piles, manure/compost heaps, rubble/rubbish, footpath and track edges, field edges,
hedgerows, boundary banks, stone walls, moss/lichen patches, bare ground patches. (Always keep
health and safety in mind when surveying. Take particular care on roadsides and uneven ground, and do not enter railway land).
The following pages show some examples of good reptile habitat.
Photos by Jon Cranfield & Chris Gleed-Owen.
Compiled by The Herpetological Conservation Trust,
with financial support from Natural England.
© The HCT 2007
Moorland & heathland – good for all reptiles
Heather moorland mosaic
Rough grass alongside footpath
Tussocky grass – good for slow-worms
Tussocky grass
Rank grass in woodland glade/ride
Tussocky grass & moorland
Rough grassy bank
Bramble & grass junction
Derelict and brownfield land
Roadside verge (take great care)
Long grass on river bank
‘Lush’ rough grass – ideal for slow-worms
Hedgerow margin
Tussocky grass
Tussocky grass with bramble & scrub patches
Tussocky grass with bramble & scrub patches
Tussocky grass with bramble & scrub patches
Rough grass & bramble along field margin
Rough grass & hedge along field margin
Tussocky grass and bramble
Tussocky grass and bramble thickets
Roadside verge contrasting with grazed pasture
Tussocky grass and bramble thickets
Marshy riparian habitats; good for grass snakes
Log pile
Coastal sand dunes – good for lizards and adders
Coastal sand dunes
Field margins & hedgerows – important corridors
Dead bracken on heathland
Clear-felled forest
Compost heaps & brash piles – good for grass
snakes
Lowland heathland
Lowland heathland
South-facing grassy & brambly bank
Manure heap & rotting hay bales
Molinia tussocks on heathland
Boundary bank
Gorse along path edge; good for common lizards
Rank grass & brambles; good for grass snakes
Rank grass & scrub mosaic
Riparian grass & scrub; good for grass snakes
Roadside scrub; good despite short grass
Rocky slope with herb cover
Rank grass & patchy bracken
Scrub and rank grass along stone wall
Patchy scrub and grass
Gorse scrub along footpath
Gorse scrub margin
Bramble thicket
Set-aside field margin - could become good for
slow-worms and grass snakes?
Scrub along farm track edge
Coastal cliff grassland
Coastal field margin
Molinia tussocks in heathland
Heathland bog; potentially good in summer
Woodland edge with margin of good habitat
Coniferous glades or rides; often good habitat
Allotments – good if left overgrown in places
Railway (good but do not attempt to survey!)