We're really pleased that the wildlife in the garden keeps growing. Lots of birds & bees of a wide variety, the badgers, foxes and hedgehogs, the frogs and toads and insects that love our ponds, the ladybirds eating the aphids on the veg, and even the slow worms. Now we have a new arrival on the block. Mary was just about to chuck some cuttings on top of one of our compost heaps when she jumped back with surprise. Basking in the sun was a beautiful Grass Snake (see picture). We got a photo or two as (s)he stayed perfectly still (playing dead?) yet keeping a beady eye on us. Finally enough was enough and the snake slid away. One more sighting a few days later this time in the weedy edges of the pathways through our veg plot.
We did have to check this was not an Adder (they're the one venomous native snake in the UK but rarely seen (very shy) and even more rarely in gardens. In all my life I have only glimpsed three Adders and then briefly as they quickly slide off. But no, this was definitely a Grass Snake, which is non-venomous. Apparently they can grow to two meters long. We reckon this one was about 2-3 feet in length, so maybe still youngish. Their one defence, a last resort as they prefer to keep away, is to excrete a smelly garlic-like fluid from their bottoms. Hmmm, something to avoid!
So - happy as we are to have this newcomer, we are also a bit concerned because the main thing Grass Snakes like to dine out on is frogs and toads. We have a very healthy population in our big pond, small pond and polytunnel pond, all helping to keep the slugs at bay. We'd be pretty unhappy if they all got gobbled up but hopefully the whole food chain should keep in some form of balance.
We did have to check this was not an Adder (they're the one venomous native snake in the UK but rarely seen (very shy) and even more rarely in gardens. In all my life I have only glimpsed three Adders and then briefly as they quickly slide off. But no, this was definitely a Grass Snake, which is non-venomous. Apparently they can grow to two meters long. We reckon this one was about 2-3 feet in length, so maybe still youngish. Their one defence, a last resort as they prefer to keep away, is to excrete a smelly garlic-like fluid from their bottoms. Hmmm, something to avoid!
So - happy as we are to have this newcomer, we are also a bit concerned because the main thing Grass Snakes like to dine out on is frogs and toads. We have a very healthy population in our big pond, small pond and polytunnel pond, all helping to keep the slugs at bay. We'd be pretty unhappy if they all got gobbled up but hopefully the whole food chain should keep in some form of balance.
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