Wall Lizards

[yellowhammer]

Had to pop to Dorset this week so I nipped off for an afternoon to visit my most bestest wall lizard site. These are an introduced species, Podarcis muralis and are found in several places around the country.







It's not often you see a wallie with a dropped tail at this site. The commonest predators here are kestrels







Note the blue scales on the side of this male;





Little smashers aren't they?

[demicav]

Fantastic photos. I was reading about these lizards today, they're great.

[Ukwildlifeo]

I remeber catching one in cornwall when I was younger. Wasn't until years later I realised it was an introduced species

[yellowhammer]

Originally Posted by Ukwildlifeo

I remeber catching one in cornwall when I was younger. Wasn't until years later I realised it was an introduced species

That's interesting, as there are no records of them from Cornwall - the nearest (known) colony was in Totnes in Devon, and that's presumed to be extinct for many years now. Can you remember where you found it? I'll get one of the local yokels to have a shufty.

[Phil Blackman]

I found this site because of a lizard I photographed with an unusually long tail at Bignor hill in Sussex. This particular bit of scrubland is quite a rich reptile site. I've found common lizards, grass snakes and adders there in the past. Last tuesday on a popular sunning log I saw this lizard with what seemed an extremely long tail. Unfortunately it was a warm day and he was pretty lively so didn't hang around for long. Checking out the internet I now think it might have been a wall lizard. Anyone know if there are any records of this species in this area?

[yellowhammer]

Hi Phil. I'd say it was unlikely to be a wall lizard, although anything's possible. There are colonies at Haywards Heath & Shoreham though, so not a million miles away.

It's more likely to be a common lizard - the colour & pattern are extremely variable, and the tails are a lot longer than you think, even if you see 'em on a regular basis...

Lots of good wall lizard info here http://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/

[Jez]

Hold on a minute! These are wall lizards is that in this Country? Well i'd never had thought it!

[Wild-Woman]

We saw them at Christchurch many,many years ago. Can remember it was a thick drystone wall facing the beach.

[Newhythebirder]

Does anyone know if there is a colony in Kent? i seem to remember someone once mentioning some on sheppey? or maybe that was something else??

[Cazzie]

So what is the difference between a wall lizard and a common one then?