The current spell of warm and sunny weather is showing signs of becoming a longer phase of unseasonably mild weather, and the term 'Indian Summer' is already being banded about. With several days of sunny weather forecast ahead, daily air temperatures are expected to exceed 20°C.

For anyone working on reptile mitigation or survey projects, this has the added benefit of extending the season. Normally some reptiles have already begun to enter hibernation by now, with most of the others following by the end of October. In colder weather, only sunny days are good for catching basking reptiles. However, with temperatures still reaching 15°C or more, reptiles are still active from c.1000-1700. Visual search is good on sunny days, and surprisingly, artificial refugia are generally still too hot, except on cloudy/overcast days when they are perform well.

CGO Ecology is currently surveying two heathland sites in the Bournemouth area, and capturing/translocating reptiles on another private residence in Verwood, the latter under licence. There are still plenty of smooth snakes out on a daily basis, occasional sand lizards and grass snakes, reasonable numbers of adders, and huge numbers of common lizards and slow-worms still active. With warm weather predicted to continue for a few more days, there is every justification for continuing survey and mitigation work while conditions last.