We have seen so far;
Common or Viviparous Lizard
Slow-worm
Adder or Viper
Grass Snake
Common Lizard certainly lives up to its name, as it’s seen in just about any suitable habitat on Pen Llyn. Most clawdds have common lizards basking on sunny days, so it’s just a matter of quietly walking up to the clawdds and looking on sunny bare spots near to some vegetation that lizards can quickly scuttle back into. In late summer its possible to see a while size range of lizards from tiny 1 inch long babies to full size adults and all sizes in-between.
Slow-worms are much harder to spot as they tend to hide in thicker vegetation when basking so you need to be very patient to see these. Most of our sightings of this species have been on quiet country lanes as the slow-worm was crossing the lane. Later in the year from August through to late September we often spot young Slow-worms and quite often rescue these from being squashed on lanes. The two adult slow-worms shown in the photo were spotted this week basking on a Clawdd on our local lane. We only spotted one of the lizards and did not realise two were in the photo until we put in on the computer to save !
The two snake species on the peninsula are much easier to see early in the year after they emerge from hibernation and the vegetation is not so thick on the clawdds. We walk up a lane near out home in Edern most mornings and can usually guarantee to spot at least one Adder basking early morning in April and May. We spotted a huge female Grass snake in April that we estimate was well over 1.5 mtrs in length ( see photos)
