Finally I managed to get an afternoon off work that coincided with some reasonable weather.. I headed straight to my much neglected favorite berus site.. ten minutes from my house..
I lifted the first felt.. 40cmx 30cm.. this is the sight that greeted me..
The number of fragilis at this site is ridiculous.. if you stand still long enough they will gather under your feet.
Moving round the site I was very pleased to see my first berus of the year, a beautifully coloured male ( thanks daniel )
Good to see that males are out and looking healthy
Well pleased I went to a historical basking site for a lovely melanistic specimen seen over the last few years.. happily there amongst the stinging nettles I was reunited.. very glad that the terrible winter had not taken its toll..
I moved to another site, badly managed (priority given to habitat management for orchids not herps) and happily saw this very pale little fella,
I moved onto a great site near my house, the site has natrix, helveticus,vulgaris, cristatus, bufo, zootoca, temporaria and obviously fragilis..the pond was heaving with bufo.. breeding males everywhere.. sadly some of the males had drown a female in their breeding frenzy
Finally I visited a last berus site and saw this little stunner basking in a hedgerow..
Finally I feel like the season is off to a good start...
Cheers all