19 Thursday Dec 2024
My very first newt encounter was a sad one to witness, as I watched a Moorhen whacking a Palmate newt to death in one of the dipping ponds at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park (My first Palmate newt, 29 February). Fortunately, for me and the newts, I saw several alive and thriving in the dragonfly pond at Forest Farm Nature Reserve three months later (Newts alive, 30 May). I must remember to look for them again in 2025 as they were spellbinding to watch as they floated serenely in the clear water.
15 Thursday Aug 2024
Posted in reptiles
This is most certainly not what I expected to see when I was walking home from the local country park on Monday.
A woman had set up a small fenced enclosure on a common area of grass and brought her five Leopard tortoises out to graze. Obviously, these are not native British species; they are pets, though perhaps a bit more exotic than the usual domestic cat or dog. Still, they were such beautifully marked creatures that I thought I would write this short post about them.
The Leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) is native to the savanna grasslands of southern and eastern Africa, and is predominantly vegetarian. These five, all males, were bred in Britain; their owner told me she had started with two, then, over the years, taken in three more whose owners no longer wanted them. She asked if I wanted to hold one so I did – George, who likes having the top of his head scratched (his skin was dry and rough to the touch) and who was heavier than I expected (his carapace was thicker than I realised). George was very handsome but I soon returned him to the pen, where he marched off more speedily than you might think to munch on a longer area of grass.
25 Thursday Jul 2024
Posted in reptiles
Tags
British reptiles, invasive reptiles, invasive species, Roath Park Lake, Yellow-bellied slider, Yellow-bellied terrapin
In my 2023 countdown to the end of the year, I wrote (in T is for terrapin, 25 December) that I’d had my closest ever sighting of a Yellow-bellied terrapin, also known as Yellow-bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta), in early November.
That record was eclipsed on Tuesday by this view of a larger, much bolder beast, also at Roath Park Lake. When it turned its head to look at me, I found that cold stare from those reptilian eyes quite unnerving.
25 Monday Dec 2023
Posted in reptiles
I’ve only blogged once about the invasive terrapin species that have successfully colonised Britain’s waterways and lakes and that post was about the Red-eared terrapin (Trachemys scripta elegans), in August 2017 (Invasive American Red-eared terrapins).
The other invasive species to be found locally is the Yellow-bellied terrapin (Trachemys scripta scripta), which lacks the distinctive red stripe on each side of its head that gives the Red-eared terrapin its name. I had my closest encounter to date with a Yellow-bellied in early November when I spotted this beast very close to the edge of Cardiff’s Roath Lake. Both species can be seen at Roath Lake, in the lakes at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, on the banks of the River Taff and, no doubt, in other nearby locations.
23 Friday Jun 2023
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot family, cootlet, turtle
I was concerned this situation was going to end badly for the tiny cootlets – one snap of that turtle’s jaws and they’d be goners!
I should’ve had more faith in the Coots – after all, these birds are known for their stroppy attitude. These Coot parents were quickly on the turtle’s case, jabbing at its legs and tail to move it away.
11 Monday Apr 2022
Posted in reptiles
S was for a sunny Sunday saunter and this superb surprise Slow-worm.
31 Friday Jul 2020
Tags
Aberbargoed coal tip, British reptiles, Common lizard, Lacerta vivipara, lizard, viviparous, Viviparous lizard, Zootoca vivipara
As well as the lovely Grayling butterfly spotted on Wednesday’s walk in Aberbargoed, we had a wonderful surprise when my friend Sharon spotted these two tiny reptiles, basking on a wooden boardwalk in the Grasslands National Nature Reserve.
The reptile known as the Common lizard and also the Viviparous lizard, once had the scientific moniker Lacerta vivipara but is now Zootoca vivipara. Viviparous is a zoological term meaning ‘bringing forth live young which have developed inside the body of the parent’ (Oxford Dictionary), though what apparently happens in this lizard’s case is that the young hatch from their eggs as they are deposited outside the body (Fauna Britannica).
As their name suggests, these lizards are common in Britain, though I’ve only seen them twice in my five years’ residence in Wales, which is why Wednesday’s sightings were such a delight. You can find out more about them on the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust website.
25 Monday May 2020
I’ve seen a few Grass snakes before but only when I’ve been on organised reptile rambles so I wasn’t entirely sure whether this quite small, sadly deceased creature was a Grass snake or a Slow worm. My Twitter pals quickly confirmed it was indeed a snake.
I found it in a local lane during this morning’s walk. It must have been basking in the sun when it was run over by a passing vehicle. Isn’t its skin amazing?
24 Tuesday Mar 2020
Tags
Common frog, Common frog tadpole, Common toad, Common toad spawn, pond wildlife, tadpole, Water boatman
I saw my first-ever Common toad (Bufo bufo) spawn when I was checking out the local ponds yesterday. Their structure – double rows of dark round eggs within long see-through strings – is unmistakable.
I couldn’t find any Common frog (Rana temporaria) spawn but that might be because the spawn has now all hatched into tadpoles. There weren’t too many of those either – perhaps the local Grey heron or other birds have been feasting on their version of caviar.
And the only other critter that was swimming about in the murky, still muddy water was this Water boatman (Corixa punctata), scooting along on the surface in that haphazard way they do.
11 Thursday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, reptiles
Tags
#365DaysWild, Anguis fragilis, British reptiles, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, refugia, slow-worm
I was walking with my friend Sharon around Cosmeston today when we spied a refugia and couldn’t resist having a look underneath. This is what we found … but what is going on?
These are Slow-worms (Anguis fragilis), and there look to be two of them intertwined. We assumed they were mating but I’ve been reading that they don’t usually mate until May, and that males and females differ in colour and appearance – these appear to be two females. And what’s with the ants? Are they trying to attack the Slow-worms, irritate them so that they move away?
Answers on a postcard … or in the comments below. Thanks, and if/when I find out more, I’ll update this post.
p.s. I’ve been told by a friend that if one Slow-worm finds a nice warm place to bask, others will join it – so just friends enjoying the warmth together, I think. And the ants don’t like them ’cause the Slow-worms will eat their pupae but the ants can’t harm the Slow-worms.
earthstar 
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