Identification leads to mystery.

Image via Wikipedia

 

A small mystery was resolved today, but it opened up the door to another, greater mystery.

A few months ago I was strolling down to where I was working that day. A stretch of Essex coastline. A warm morning, the skies were clear, it was going to be glorious.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement and then scurrying in front of me was a bright green lizard, mottled with brown. He was in too much of a hurry to pose for a photo and I was to enchanted to care. He seemed to be maybe 12cm long. I had never seen anything like him. As delightful as he was unexpected. It brightened my day.

Getting home and hitting the reference books did me no good, a search of the internet came up with nothing that really looked like what I had seen.

The incident was put to the back of a cluttered mind.

I get in from work today and Alan Titchmarsh is boring on about UK wildlife in his rent-a-presenter manner. I am not a fan, but his demise by remote control was stopped by the fact he mentioned being in Devon, or Dorset. Where-ever it was, somewhere I would rather be..

Next moment the lizard I had seen was on-screen. A sand lizard, endangered, they live in colonies.

The interesting thing being the nearest known colony (there are 580 recorded in Britain) is about 80 miles from where I saw one.

The internet is a collection of small wonder. A quick search and I found the chap I wanted to email to tell him. The UK co-coordinator of sand lizard counting.

Turns out you need a licence to count these thing. Seems a bit of fuss, but doubt I have broken to many laws by having one run in front of me. If it does get legal I suppose I can fall back on the defence there was only 1, so not really any counting involved.

All joking aside I am actually more excited by this brush with endangered species in a place not apparently previously recorded than I expected to be. Not that I had given such circumstances all that much thought..

I was pleased to get it identified and thrilled it might represent an increase in numbers for an endangered UK lizard.  The chances of seeing it again, given the area I saw it is remote.

My only regret is I did not get a photo, but at the time i had no idea it was an exciting rarity which would be of significance to anyone else.