Big deal, you’re thinking, but lizards are actually not terribly common here in the UK (although it was the ‘least rare’ species, the Viviparous Lizard that I found).
We took a day trip to the Devil’s Punchbowl in Surrey and I was picking bilberries (we came home with a couple of pounds of them) with my wife and kids when I spotted it moving through some longish grass, it was actually very easy to catch, this might have been because it was a very heavily pregnant female. I only held it in my hand for about twenty seconds so that the children could see it, then I let it go back into the undergrowth.
It was a magical encounter - the first time I’ve ever caught a lizard in this country, although I’ve glimpsed them scurrying away into the bushes when I’ve been on holiday in the West country.
Mangetout, first let me say, in no way do I wish to belittle your experience, as I think I know exactly how you feel. It’d be like, oh, say, spotting a manatee in the wild, for me. (Gulf Coast o’ Florida, endangered species, and all.)
But as for lizards…
It’s a rare week when one o’ the little goobers isn’t spotted inside our house. Understand, now, that this is a home with central AC/heating, meaning (in these parts, anyway) the whole place has to be awfully close to air-tight, excluding the exhaust vent over the stove(and that’s screened, natch), or you go broke on your electric bill. Yet somehow the ‘dinosaurs’ are always managing to slip in through some crack or another. (There are days when you’d swear the things are getting in through osmosis, or teleportation.)
Just FTR, the little guys here are several types of anoles, with an occasional skink (sp?) thrown in for variety.
Mangetout, that is really cool. Observing wildlife, and connecting, for just a fraction of a second, with another creature really is a magical experience. Have you ever seen an adder in the wild? Are they at all common in the UK? (I love snakes.)
divemaster, a monitor lizard lives in my house. His name is Ely, and he enjoys having his neck scratched.
Yes, I’ve seen a few adders; I nearly trod on one that was basking when on honeymoon (ten years ago) on Dartmoor. We also get grass snakes (our only other native snake, I believe) down at my allotment.
I lived in Cyprus between the ages of 3 and 7 and there were lizards everywhere (mostly geckos and sand lizards); catching them was one of my favourite pastimes; I would go out after school every day and catch all I could find on the field of waste ground next to our house. When I went back there on holiday as an adult, I was amazed at how difficult they were to catch.
Anyway, it has been a wonderful weekend; the trip to Surrey, the spectacular views (I recommend a trip to the Deviil’s Punchbowl to anyone visiting), the bilberries (which I made into a delicious flan this evening), the lizard. Today we found loads of tiny (fingernail size) frogs in the garden; I carefully caught one and my kids were amazed (a bunch of young lads who often hang around on the green excitedly asked “Are you going to kill it?” Grrr, I gave them a bit of a talking to. The lime trees (Tilia, not Citrus) are in full bloom and I made lime flower tea for the first time, it’s wonderful.
