Eleven years after the start of a project to improve the living conditions for the grass snake (Natrix natrix) in the province of Flevoland a lot has been established. Many new egg-laying mounds have been built and kilometres of steep canal banks in the province have been transformed into roling, nature-friendly banks. According to counts of basking reptiles and egg scales at the egg-laying sites, the number of snakes in the two known breeding areas has increased. However, colonisation of new breeding sites did not take place. Occasionally, a grass snake was found along one of the main canals of Flevoland, outside the known breeding areas. The improved bank constructions offer additional habitat for the grass snake but are not yet sufficient to enable large-scale dispersion of the population. Small changes near the canal banks, such as the construction of new egg-laying and hibernation mounds, and the creation of amphibian friendly ponds that provide better foraging grounds for the grass snake, will improve the living conditions and thus increase the chance of dispersion of grass snakes in Flevoland.

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RAVON

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RAVON

Jeroen Reinhold, & Gré ter Woord. (2009). De ringslang en de Flevolandse kanalen. RAVON, 11(1/2), 3–5.