Thursday, June 24, 2010

Common Lizard on Calderdale border, 23rd June 2010

I know it's not a bird posting, but I thought some folks would be interested in a sighting of a common lizard I had yesterday on the Calderdale border. It was actually in Lancs (Milnrow), by a few yards, on Axletree Edge (where the dotterel were last year). Close by is Wicken Clough (wholly in Calderdale) where someone told me they have been seen in the past.

Regards, Chris

18 comments:

Steve Cummings said...

Excellent. I've managed to see all our amphibians this year, but have yet to encounter any reptiles. I know where I'm off this weekend. Cheers

Goldon Gordon said...

Most of the Calderdale uplands I have walked over the last 25 years years we spotted Common Lizard on most favorable weather occasions. They are most certainly not common in Calderale but I would expect to see them in suitable upland habitat on hot days. The moors and tracks the Yorkshire side of Blackstone Edge used to be a good spot for them a few years back.

Since I moved here to the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales in 2008 I now see most of our reptiles daily in favorable weather. Common Lizards are truly common and Adders abound. Grass Snake is not as often seen but we photographed a huge female early in spring basking, it was over 1.5 metres in length ! Slow worms are everywhere but much harder to spot unless you go looking for them.

PS ; any news on the CB meeting on the 22nd ?

Phil Wood said...

3 or maybe 4 summers ago, my friend and I had a fleeting glimpse of a lizard on the Pennine Way on the E side of Walshaw Dean Middle Res.
There was some discussion at the time, I can't remember now whether this was by email or on this Blog. It's certainly not my field of expertise: I never made a positive ID despite this help, but Common Lizard did seem the most likely.
Paul has posted while I was writing this, which seems to confirm Common Lizard!

David Sutcliffe said...

Blake Dean (on the rocks) used to be a good spot in the 70's!

Goldon Gordon said...

Steve Cummings said...Excellent. I've managed to see all our amphibians this year.


Steve have you seen Great Crested Newts this year ?

Goldon Gordon said...

Phil
Unless your lizard was of a released lizard Its 99.99% certain it would have been Common Lizard in Calderdale.

Steve Cummings said...

I met Chris Tindal and Valerie Wheeler who were surveying ponds around Elland and one pond gave up 16 GCN, 14 smooth newt, 151 palmate newt, 26 frogs, 19 toads on 29th April. Conditions were not good for filming however, so this is a "personal challenge" for me at a later date. It needs a fair amount of preparation in order to avoid disturbing them.

ChrisJB said...

I have often suspected their presence on local moors as the habitat is most favourable. I was a little taken aback with this having been roaming about up there since I was a lad and never seeing one until now. In fact I've spent many years walking most of the South Pennines and never seen one locally until now. A local archaeologist who used to go flinting in nearby Wicken Clough told me he'd seen one about 12 years ago though.

Chris

Jeff Cox said...

I've been wandering around the Calderdale moors for many years (although I do go home every now and then) and I've never seen a lizard in Calderdale. Since I've retired and spent even more time on the moors, and seen more and more wildlife as a consequence, I keep hoping I'll see a lizard or a snake. Maybe this weekend then...

Goldon Gordon said...

Steve....it was always suspected the Great Crested Newts might occur at CB but never followed up at the time.

Sue and I found a man-made concrete water tank on the quarries above Nant Gwrtheyrn here on the Peninsula. We counted over 200+ Smooth newts in 15 mins ! This is the best stocked water feature I have ever seen, with millions of Frog taddies, Dragonfly Larvae and Water beetles. I phoned the local recording centre to make sure they were aware of this feature and discovered that not one organisation knew about this feature. Its now being recorded by various local and national organisations to try and get a preservation order placed on it. I very nearly did not bother reporting the pond as I assumed someone else would have done so many years ago, glad I took the time to do so now.

If you every fancy a visit down here to N Wales then you are gauranteed to see Grass Snake, Adder, Common Lizard and Sloworms

Daniel Branch said...

I had a lizard about 7 years ago on ovenden moor near the windmills plus some newts but I have not seen any since

AndyC said...

I have seen common Lizard in Calderdale in a number of places including Walshaw Dean,hardcastle Craggs,Whiteholm,Ogden and Withens Clough usall by dry stone walls.I did find one at walshaw dean under a cattle grid.!!

Goldon Gordon said...

I did find one at walshaw dean under a cattle grid.!! Andy thats not the cattle grid that you drove into is it :-))

AndyC said...

Now that is another story.........

Steve Cummings said...

@Moffman.
I always fancy visiting N.Wales, Paul. Trouble is, the only time I seem to manage it theses days is when visiting relatives on Anglesey around Christmas.

Jeff Cox said...

Damn fine entry on the blog that has generated the most comments for a long time - and it's not about birds!!

ChrisJB said...

I don't know how to put photos on the blog, but I did take a couple if anyone wants one emailing. It was a fine specimen.

Chris

Jeff Cox said...

Send me a copy a copy if you will and I'll forward info on how to add photos to the blog.
jakeox@btinternet.com