Dungeness is a strange place but yet full of wildlife and also the the first reserve the RSPB opened. Its quite a large area with wetland, shingle and scrub habitat ideal for species like reptiles, waders and migrant birds.
i was mainly after one of these, the wasp spider a non native species that comes in on ships so often found in coastal areas. i'd heard they were on the reserve but never found one until i asked a local birder who told me to look near the ARC hide car park and sure enough found this large female! he also mentioned seeing a sand lizard though i didn't see any.
Hidden in the scrub was the this beauty a hawk moth catapillar.
the hazard of taking images on a bank holiday is lots of people are around so while creeping up on this marsh frog some kids ran over and spooked it!
This common blue butterfly was the highlight of my day with such vibrant colours though tricky to get close to.
Thinking i wouldn't see any more herptiles this late in the year, i went to kent mainly for birds but was pleaslenty surprised by the amount of common lizards basking and newts in the wet grass.
i also happened upon my first ever great crested newt, underneath a carpet. Not as large as i thought it would of been but fantastic to see one.
as the days a getting colder the common lizards are making full use of any warm surface like these black tyres.
the great crested newts smaller cousin, the smooth newt was also present in the moss.
i didn't completely forget about the birds though as i shot this (very shaky sorry!) footage of a great white egret at RSPB Dungeness
- its illegal to handle great crested newts without a licence so i couldn't get any other angles when i found this one poking its head out. a fine of £5000 can be issued you are caught disturbing them!
- october despite the cold weather closing in is a great month to photograph herps as they take longer to bask and are more sluggish allowing you to get closer for a shot!
- Be prepared! i didn't have a tripod with me when i saw the great white egret so my footage is shocking! but it shows a unusual species in the UK.
In a earlier post i mentioned that marsh frogs were out competing our native frogs but after i had a walk along the royal military canal in kent found a healthy population of both common and marsh frogs there. it also seems that the local grass snakes have greatly benefited from the marsh frogs as a extra food source!
I'm not advocating the release of non native species at all but it seems these little frogs actually benefit a lot or our wildlife including some of the rarer species.
i took a trip to dungeness in Kent and its no coincidencethat the bitterns breeding there, purple herons showing up and other amphibian loving birds all do very well at this site because of the marsh frogs for a food source.
even in romney marsh where rare species like medical leeches and great crested newts can be found are benefiting from the marsh frogs with the leeches sucking there blood and newts eating the tadpoles.
so from the bottom of my heart sorry marsh frogs!...
... but not to sorry they still have the potential to spread Chytrid a deadly amphibian fungus and at the end of day shouldn't be in Britain but if they are here may as well enjoy them!
