The brightest of seasons brings with it a large increase in wild animal prevalence around Yass and experts say it’s important that locals know what to do if they experience any problems.

Reptiles including lizards, snakes and turtles are the usual spring suspects who emerge after a winter of hibernation. 

The cold-blooded animals seek warmth and food and snake enthusiast Blake Swadling said locals could be in for a busy summer judging on animals he’s already seen.

“It’s been a mild winter and I’ve already seen lots of lizards about so I’d say the snakes aren’t too far off," he said.

“Lizards you’re likely to see are the blue-tongues, bearded dragons and the odd shingleback and some of them can cut your fingernail in half so don’t touch those guys.

“As soon as we get that warm weather the snakes will start to move around and while I haven’t seen any I’m sure others have, farmers for example would have.”

Mr Swadling said as usual, proper precautions are important.

“As usual people need to clean up any junk around their yard, keep the grass short… they don’t like to be in the open too much and the other behavioural stuff when you see a snake.

“Most people that are bitten are the ones trying to kill them so if it’s close by stand still, you can yell out as much as you want because they can’t hear you so yell out ‘snake’ and the snake will just go right by you. 

“If you jump around like a goose it excites them and you don’t want to do that.”

He said the other thing you can do is contact Wildcare and they will come and relocate the animal.

“But it’s important that if you do that, keep your eyes on it because once you lose sight of it, there’s only a very slim chance of seeing it again.”

Jane Baker, a volunteer with Wildcare, said it’s important locals watch out for mammals as well, especially echidnas.

“At this time people may see echidnas in their backyard foraging about,” she told the Tribune.

“And what they need to do is lock the dog up, put the cat inside and the echidna, if it’s a male, will move on at dusk. If it is a female she will be around at odd intervals for several weeks because she will be out foraging and then going back to feed the infant.”

Mrs Baker said Wildcare cannot relocate a female simply because they won’t know where her puggle (infant) is but if it’s a male, and you can’t wait until dusk, they can come and move it on.

“If people see an echidna crossing the road they should leave it alone, but if it’s in danger pick it up and move it across in the direction it was going… pick it up by throwing a jacket over it and scooping it up.”

She said echidnas, classed as monotremes, are a vital cog in Australia’s native ecosystem.

“Echidnas actually live on all the things we would like to get rid of, animals like termites and ants, slugs, slaters, spiders… and moth and moth larvae as well.”

“And apart from that they are an extraordinarily unique animal and are the oldest living mammal, they go back to dinosaur times.”

Magpie swooping season has also been a cause of concern for locals but there are things that can be done to avoid the nesting birds.

Residents should avoid areas which they know has had magpie activity, wear a wide brimmed hat or carry an umbrella while walking, be sure not to annoy the magpies and leave a sign and tell people about the swoop so they can avoid the area.

WIRES told Fairfax that the birds can’t be relocated under any circumstance.

"People do find it very distressing but unfortunately, relocating magpies is not an option," black and white bird co-ordinator Kerrie Jones said.

"Magpies are very intelligent birds with a complex territorial system. They operate in large family groups, so if one bird is removed, another one will simply move in to replace it.

"If we did try and relocate them, we would be putting them in danger as they would be in another bird's territory."

To contact Wildcare phone 6299 1966.