Slow Worm

 

Not the best photograph, but never mind. 

There was a hush of great excitement this afternoon when this beautiful Slow worm was seen draping herself over a large anthill in the long grass in our wild garden. 

We have seen Common lizards before on rare occasions and a single Grass snake last summer, but this was an exciting first for us. The black stripe over brown scales suggests a female. Slow worms are neither worms nor snakes; they are in fact legless lizards.

Like the Common lizard and the Grass snake, Slow worms are protected by law. We hope the visiting cats will avoid the anthills and long grass.

A Common Lizard at Dunwich

All of a sudden something moved and we noticed a small head appearing. It belonged to a Common Lizard and this was my first sighting of the season. The lizard seemed quite unperturbed by a string of Bank Holiday walkers, dogs, children and cyclists who were passing by in quick succession. Common Lizards are protected by law. These photographs were taken with a zoom lens.  

Seconds later a front leg appeared...

... and then a body.

It looked for a moment as if the lizard was about...

... to beat a retreat.

However, it decided to stay out in the sunshine, curling its head over the top of its tail

The groups of holiday-makers and day-trippers soon dispersed. The photo of Dunwich Beach below shows just how crowded empty our beautiful stretches of Suffolk shoreline can be - even at peak times. 

I have submitted this lizard sighting to the Record Pool site.

A Grass Snake in the Water

Grass  Snake

On what was not the most promising day in terms of the weather (and yes, we nearly got soaked), we had a remarkable time in terms of the wildlife we were able to see at Carlton Marshes, one of the larger reserves in the care of Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

There were damselflies, dragonflies (just a few), butterflies and calling cuckoos - but it was the rare Fen Raft Spider who stole the show for us, followed by the sudden and unexpected appearance of this Grass Snake. We hardly ever see these reptiles, and to cap it all, David saw a second Grass Snake at Minsmere the following day.

I have certainly never seen a snake swimming in the water before. This one carried on swimming, with its head held high before disappearing a few seconds later - and that was the last we saw of it.

I have included this photo because it shows the beautiful setting of the reserve. Plans are afoot, as I mentioned in my last post, to extend this area of Suffolk Broadland and to improve visitor facilities.

The landscape is flat, broken up with dykes, ditches and watercourses of various kinds. The Netherlands are not far away to the east (though there are roughly 120 km of sea water between the two shores).

This was the view that we saw first, and just as the Fen Raft Spider had been almost like another piece of waterlogged reed, so the Grass Snake could have been another strand of water weed or piece of twig.

Those distinctive yellow and black collar marks stood out sufficiently, however, particularly when the snake was moving on the surface, making its way down the watercourse.

The image above shows just how well camouflaged these snakes can be. As you may have realised, the quick pictures we took have been cropped and enlarged for the sake of detail.

We felt very privileged to have the unexpected chance to watch this snake for a few seconds as it carried on swimming.

Grass Snakes are protected by law under the terms of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. They must not be killed, harmed, injured, sold or traded.

RSPB Minsmere - The Adder Trail

Sharing with Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen ...

There is certainly a BBC Springwatch buzz at RSPB Minsmere.

We decided to take a look along the Adder trail for signs of snake.

We had a very satisfatory sighting, but it was not only the reptiles who caused a stir.

The Avocets were on their nests. There were several Little Egrets on the scrape.
The Bearded tits were hard to photograph but a delight to watch. 
The Bluebells were a joy to behold. We saw (and heard) two Bitterns.
We heard a Water Rail and were serenaded by a Cuckoo.
The Sand Martins were busy re-claiming their nests.
David saw our first dragonfly of 2015 - a Hairy Dragonfly.
I came across my first Grasshopper of the season.

N.B. Adders are dangerous when they bite.
I took all the photographs below from the path side of the roped-off viewing area.

A seasonal sea of Bluebells

Camouflage! Adders head to head ... (look for the eyes)

Both snakes look right ...

It can be hard to see where one Adder ends and the other begins!

Such fine markings.

Snakes in the grass ...

Close-up. I wonder if the Adder can feel those thorns!

You can see how mottled shade in the undergrowth provides the perfect habitat.

A personal favourite!

Prepare for action ...

I see that the Springwatch team will be following specific Adders this year. 

You can read about the plans if you click here and scroll down 

to the BBC Springwatch paragraph called 'Adders on the Move'. 

It will be fascinating to see what traits are revealed. 

* * *

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Herpetofauna: Adder at Minsmere

I had been wondering how long it would be before I encountered one of the Adders that frequent RSPB Minsmere, and thanks to the warm sunny conditions last weekend, I was able to take these photographs. My instinctive reaction was to jump, and then to warn David to keep a sensible distance away. At that point we watched the snake together. I got out my camera and took these shots, using my zoom lens, before the reptile slithered off into the shade of the undergrowth. 

Adders are a protected species under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. They are protected from being taken from the wild, from being killed and from being sold. These snakes do not bite unless startled or provoked. About 100 people receive an adder bite in the UK each year. Immediate medical attention must be sought in the case of such an eventuality.  

I have recorded the sighting here on the 'Add an Adder' section of The Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Trust, for the purposes of monitoring and conservation. 

Forked tongue (and red iris)

A veritable snake in the grass . . .

Nature Reserve Notes: Looking for Reptiles at RSPB Minsmere

We had been told that there were Adders about at RSPB Minsmere, so we were keeping an eye out for reptiles over the last Bank Holiday weekend. David was particularly sharp-eyed, and spotted a scaled creature camouflaged by the dry leaves. The photo above has been cropped considerably to make the reptile more visible!

It tuned out to be ...

... a magnificent Common Lizard. Definitely another exciting seasonal first (26 May 2013) ... though we never got to see an Adder!