Lizards and work

Today was nice and sunny at Foxglove but not too hot for working. A number of tasks were completed, but we are a little short of photographs for evidence of this as the work camera decided for some reason to put orange and blue stripes through most of the photographs!

Everything has been growing prolifically at Foxglove this season, so todays task was strimming and mowing net rides and paths, and cutting back some of the overhanging vegetation along the entrance track. This is a job that has to be done quite frequently as when it rains, the vegetation hangs down quite low.

Yesterday we saw our Common Lizard. This is a male. We know this as it is spotty- females are stripy. It is frequently found along the boardwalk, basking in the sunshine near the Wetland Hide. Lizards can lose their tails as a defence mechanism if they are caught.  The tail continues to wriggle in the grasp of the predator, while the lizard itself beats a hasty retreat. You can see that the new tail it has grown is not quite as smart as the original one would have been!

Other jobs today included some repairs to the mowers, clearing moss from the gutters (another seemingly never ending task!) and putting out our motion sensor cameras, to see what interesting wildlife is roaming the site when we are not looking.

Thanks to everyone who helped out today. The reserve is looking much tidier.