Green jewel

Another very busy day! In the morning Chris, Lizzy and I went to a nearby nature reserve to look for adders. We  were rather short of time, but still managed to spot a heavily gravid female basking in the sun, possibly the largest adder I've ever seen, probably nearly 75cm in length. We were also delighted to spot both dingy and grizzled skippers, as well as this stunningly fresh green hairstreak.

It would have been good to stay longer. but we only just got home in time for Pete and I to head straight off to a walk round a set of local ponds where management is proposed for next winter. It was a very interesting visit, and we were able to contribute to discussion about what actually needed doing, and hopefully to avoid any inadvertent damage due to a limited focus on the requirements of amphibians. The walk was scheduled to take about two hours, but ended up taking over four, which gave me very little time to make final preparations for my three days of teaching at Leeds University!