Common Lizard

[David Errey]

While out in the garden this morning I found this Common Lizard sunning itself on a pile of logs which just shows how mild it has been. I also found a dunnocks nest with 5 eggs in it.

David

Marden

[Bob Knight]

Nice shot David.  Wish I had these in my garden!

I used to find common lizards quite often when I lived at Cliffe (left the village in 1973), but nowadays they are a rare sighting, even on regular birding trips.  I had presumed they are less common in the County? 

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[Bo Beolens]

When I was growing up they were easy to find around Offham, Ryarsh, Ditton, Larkfield, East & West Malling - we had loads of places where we would catch them and introduce them tour own gardens… this was the 50s/60s and we knew no better… last one I saw in Kent was on Sheppy a couple of years ago.

bo

[Tony Morris]

They're still around Bo.Last year I saw several at Sandwich Bay and also along the cliffs here (St Margaret's and at Langdon cliffs).

Tony Morris
St Margaret's at Cliffe
Kent
http://stmargaretsphotodiary.blogspot.com/

[Dere...@aol.com]

They were always a thing from my distant childhood, having not seen any here on Sheppey for many, many years, but a couple of years ago on the Swale NNR I started seeing them regularly along the top of the seawall. However I haven't see them anywhere else on Sheppey.

 

 

Derek F.

[Paul Larkin]

Bob,

Common lizards are still common at Cliffe as are slow worms, grass snakes and adders, although the latter are more localised.

Paul

On 21 Mar 2014, at 21:32, Bob Knight <rjkni...@gmail.com> wrote:

[David Errey]

It's the first one I've seen around this area  in the 20 years that I've lived here. I once saw a slow worm in the garden and we occasionally see grass snakes.

David

Marden

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From: Bob Knight <rjkni...@gmail.com>
To: kent-b...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, 21 March 2014, 21:32

Subject: Re: [Kent-Birders] Common Lizard

[Dere...@aol.com]

I must say that I see grass snakes far more regularly on The Swale NNR than I do lizards but then there is a good supply of marsh frogs for them to eat.

 

 

Derek F.

[Bob Knight]

Good to hear it Paul.  I did find a few slow worms out there last summer, also a couple of young grass snakes, but still no lizards, so I can't have been looking in the right place.  As kids we particularly used to find lizards in the area around Cliffe creek.  But in all my childhood / teenager years there I never saw an adder.  Common frogs were anything but common in the area, whereas toads were not difficult to find.  Quite different to today, with the marsh frogs abundant in most of the ditches..

[Paul Larkin]

Bob,

Common lizards tend to be in the more sandy gravelly areas. Around the Coastguard's and out in the, now inaccessible, areas round the Black Barn Pools and as you mentioned around the Creek, Timber and Alpha Lakes are also quite good. The Alpha and Timber Lakes are good for adders but you have to surprise them! I've only ever seen one toad there, bizarrely out on the sea wall, although newts, including great crested, are also present. It's odd how things change, hedgehogs have always been scarce as were grey squirrels, although the latter have now a constant presence. Bird-wise tawny owls were rare but now have a good foothold, great spotted and particularly green woodpeckers are common although once rare, oddly, despite its now rarity generally, I have seen lesser spot twice at Cliffe. I remember Len Bachelor, who you may have known, telling me that, despite his years there, he had never seen a hobby which are now common in summer.

On that subject I am preparing an update of the list of the birds of Cliffe. If  anyone would like a copy let me know.

Paul

[David Hatton]

Hi all - does anyone know whether the waxwings are still at Stonelees at the moment (or any other sites that they may be in Thanet as we're in the area today)?

Thanks

Dave