Sunday 15th April 2007
Old Lodge
Today was destined to be a great day for reptile hunting. Firstly, it was a very
hot day for the time of year (25.3oC with Sussex being the hottest
place in Britain. It was also the hottest April day since 1949), plus it was just the time that
most of the country's reptiles are getting restless after their October - March
hibernation. We went to the perfect location for seeing some, Old Lodge Nature
Reserve in Ashdown forest. We walked very slowly around the large clumps of
gorse hoping to sneak up on a basking snake. The reserve is a very quiet spot
and never seems to have many people in it, so it is a very relaxing place. Today
we were joined by great spotted woodpeckers, chiffchaffs, tree pipits and
linnets.
The gorse was in full flower and we could hear the pods
bursting all the time in the background. The smell of coconut oil coming from
them flavoured the day.
We quickly realised that the area was alive with common lizards. They were
scuttling everywhere at very high speed. These cute little things are also one of the prey foods of the
snakes we were searching for.
Eventually we came upon an adder, another female, basking
in a shallow dip in a small trail. We didn't get too close as we didn't want to
upset her, but after a while she seemed to realise we were there and moved
back into cover. We had got a much better view than we did yesterday. In all, a
very successful weekends herpetology!
