For illustrated talks on natural history and history see www.peterlovetttalks.co.uk

For illustrated talks on natural history and history click here for www.peterlovetttalks.co.uk

Wednesday 28 March 2012

How to spot grass snakes

Yesterday afternoon I spotted three grass snakes; two in New England wood, Cuckfield and one on the High Weald Landscape Trail west of the town.

Usually grass snakes will slip away before you get a chance to see them.  However, on this occasion I was on  my own and often standing still looking for birds and listening to their songs.  There was a breeze but on each occasion I heard a very faint rustling of the undergrowth that was unlikely to be the wind.  I thought that it might be a wood mouse yet they were all grass snakes slithering through dense, dead brambles that had been piled up in the wood and in a hedgerow on the trail.

Conclusion; To spot grass snakes your ears are a better detector than your eyes -- a bit like a barn owl perhaps.

P.S. I did try to photograph them, but they were too quick or simply out of focus to show you here.

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