Please help AARC help some gartersnakes!

[joeysgreen]

Hello everyone,
It has been a while since I have posted on this forum, please forgive my absence as it's not for a lack of love for our scaley friends. I've come asking for some help on a project that I hold dear to my heart. It involves a red sided gartersnake den west of Edmonton, Alberta.
Snakes are declining everywhere, and this is an opportunity to make a difference.

The Alberta Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy needs to do a population count at the Lake Eden densite as an important step towards protecting the area. We are working hard to get the funds ready for supplies and equipment but time is running short as spring is at our doorstep.
Please see our online funding campaign at http://igg.me/p/725959/x/6825185 and share it with all of your friends, family, acquaintances, facebook and email lists.

I sincerely appreciate your help.
Ian Kanda

* The above campaign accepts credit cards. We will be able to accept PayPal shortly.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g315/joeysgreen/garters%20and%20wagner%2007/April2607snakedenandWagner018.jpg (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/joeysgreen/media/garters%20and%20wagner%2007/April2607snakedenandWagner018.jpg.html)

[guidofatherof5]

Best of luck with the project.

[joeysgreen]

Thanks Steve!

[Mommy2many]

Let us know when they start to accept Paypal please and Good Luck!

[guidofatherof5]

Your photo brings back many memories of my Narcisse Den trip.

[joeysgreen]

lol, ya, I really wish to one day see Narcisse. I travel through Winnipeg every few years, but never at a good time. We do want to attain the same sort of synergy between public access and population protection.

And thanks Le Ann, it should just be another day or two. I"ll post again when PayPal is up, and hopefully if the weather cooperates I'll have some pictures of snakes basking on the snowbank to share :)

Ian

[guidofatherof5]

lol, ya, I really wish to one day see Narcisse. I travel through Winnipeg every few years, but never at a good time. We do want to attain the same sort of synergy between public access and population protection.

And thanks Le Ann, it should just be another day or two. I"ll post again when PayPal is up, and hopefully if the weather cooperates I'll have some pictures of snakes basking on the snowbank to share :)


Ian


Looking forward to those photos.

[Mommy2many]

Me too!

[joeysgreen]

So Alberta weather as it is, the snakes are still in slumber. Even with a nice and sunny weekend nobody came out. The snow cover is down below 24" now and with another warm weekend predicted I again hope to see some snakes finally emerge.

We are also in our final stretch of fundraising before the real work begins. If you are on the fence or waiting for the right time, this is your reminder!

Due to delays at the bank (who hasn't experienced this!) we won't be able to accept paypal for this campaign.

Thanks everyone for the consideration :)

Ian

[guidofatherof5]

We would love to see any photos you would care to upload with regards to the snakes.

[joeysgreen]

I promised photos, so here they are with an update.
We have raised enough funds thanks to so many gracious people to get started in time. For most of the year the den is covered deep in snow. The snakes have been out, but it was snowing again today. A few diehard serpents tried to warm up despite the snowflakes and dreary skies. I got a lot of good photos with my crappy point and shoot camera because they were so cold they could barely move. One did a tongue flick that took over a minute.

Today was spent cutting, carrying, and hammering in hundreds of pounds of rebar stakes (I might be exaggerating the weight a bit as my muscles ache). The day ended when I busted the sledge hammer in half!

It was also a good birding day, a hobby that's growing on me as let's face it, herps are sparse in diversity up here. I still have to learn how to identify most of my birds, but I saw swainson's and redtail hawks, merlins, tree swallows, pileated woodpeckers, buffleheads, mergansers, goldeneye, geese, and another half dozen species I'm not brave enough to try and guess on.

And of course our boreal chorus and wood frogs were calling. Once thawed in the spring, not much stops them!

[guidofatherof5]

Great update and thanks for all you are doing.
Those males seem to be waiting for something, I wonder what it could be:D

[jwolfe152]

The same thing every other male waits for

[joeysgreen]

I'm super sunburnt again but counted 701 snakes today. Pit tagged about 50 of them. Largest was 703mm SVL and 97grams. Heaviest snake was 98grams. I'll give another update when I've organized the data and pictures :)

Ian