Slow worm

After so much rain throughout April, it was great to be able to go out in sunny and warm weather. The purpose of today's visit to my local patch in the Gaywood Valley was to do a butterfly transect, but I got a little distracted along the way.

I was heading for the starting point in Reffley Wood when I heard a rustling in the undergrowth. I stopped to see what it was, expecting it to be an adder which is more common in this area of the woods. I wasn't sure what it was at the time, and had to look it up when I got back home.

It was great to work out it was, in fact, a slow worm - a species I have never seen before!