A pilgrimage for mind, body and soul # 1 ..

My first Adder (Vipera berus L.) sighting of the year

Despite an unpromising weather forecast, I took a quick trip to Hazleton Common, hoping to catch a reptile or two to kick start my year list. Arrived 11:00ish and scouted around the northern part of the common which felt too wet and cold underfoot to be viable for sightings. On the more heathy southern end the higher ground was dryer, but still cold, with an unexpectedly biting wind under passing cloud cover.

I was just about to leave, when the sun broke through to clear sky, the wind dropped and the temperature improved by all of a whole two degrees perhaps? I waited for about 5 mins in the sunshine then returned to an area, which had been productive on past visits. I was chuffed to get onto a single male adder basking in the open, in close proximity to an artificial refugia. A couple of hasty shots with the "long Tom" for the record, and I left it alone. Lunch beckoned. Heading slowly off site, I failed to connect with any other individuals.

Dorset heathland reptiles

 

Top to bottom: ♂ Vipera berus; ♂ Lacerta agilis # 1; ♂ Lacerta agilis # 1; ♂ Lacerta agilis # 2

Via a Dorset heathland, surveyed under Dorset amphibian and reptile conservation licence.

See: http://www.arc-trust.org/dorset/

Not a Bird ? Sparsholt College reptile sp.

Anguis fragilis

Anguis fragilis

Taking a short (and much needed?) break from blogging recent avifauna spp. sightings, it is time to include the photo record of a slow worm Anguis fragilis found under felt in the shelter-belt at Sparsholt College on 22nd September 2009 Given the size and colouration of the slow worm (iridescent gold, with black / brown sides and a central dorsal stripe), I would identify it as a juvenile. This slow worm was not the only specimen to be found. However, the first was to swift (!) to be caught when the tin was lifted. The juv. reptile showed its contempt for disturbance by defecating in the hand.

ARKive provides a brief guide to the biology of this reptile, along with some stunning video footage of the sp. http://www.arkive.org/slow-worm/anguis-fragilis/biology.html Although any information the website provides regarding the slow worms legal status needs to be double-checked against both Natural England and UK Biodiversity Action Plan websites.

The slow worm is protected under Schedule 9 Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).

Blashford Lakes Volunteering

Pulling Himalayan Balsam Impatiens glandulifera along the banks of the Dockens Water at Blashford Lakes Wildlife Reserve (Nr. Ringwood, Hampshire) produced an unexpected and much needed highlight when a grass snake Natrix natrix was uncovered beneath the damp tangle of ferns and bramble - this individual was carefully replaced behind the advancing line of the volunteers where it quickly recoiled and settled.

Natrix natrix For more information on this species see http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/grass_snake.htm

The path edges around the reserve are brightened by the displays of St John's Wort sp. Hypericum sp.

Hypericum sp.

Several Buddleia Buddlleja davidii or "butterfly bush" are growing around the visitor centre attracting a large number of butterflies including the peacock Inachis io, painted lady Vanessa cardui, red admiral Vanessa atlanta, brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni, large white Pieris brassicae, small white Pieris rapae and comma polygonum c-album. Speckled wood Parage argeria, small heath Coenonympha pamphilus and gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus were also noted around the site.

Inachis io (top) Vanessa cardui (bottom) feeding on Buddleja davidii

Parage aegeria on common nettle Urtica dioica