Fambridge I had never heard the sound of a cuckoo in its natural habitat or questioned the
ethics of development versus preservation of habitat. This is something now that is firmly in
the forefront of my mind and thankfully something that I appreciate on a daily basis.
On a warm day sunny day in July I was fortunate to see this little creature basking in the
warmth on the dark background of my mums washing bin sitting in the doorway. A fantastic
example of where two worlds meet.
I have seen common lizards down by the river which is very close to my house and where
there is an abundance of long vegetation and open patches in which they can bask but
having one in my garden is a first for me! Of course the question I asked is which route did
it travel to get there, along the short road leading from the river or across the arable fields?
For those who may be wondering why its tail seems too short and dark, common lizards
(as well as many other species) have the amazing ability to drop their tails if trapped or
startled by a potential threat such as a predator. They often grow back much shorter and
sometimes darker than the original tail.
This is an interesting aspect of this lizard and I would be keen to see the condition of others as there has been a large area of scrubland cut recently for, which appears to be change of use to residential garden which may account for the migration into a domestic garden. There has also been some activity of a proposed car breakers yard in very close proximity to the river within a site which has been empty and unused for more than twenty years and of course this potential disturbance may have some bearing on this. This is one factor that has caused a great deal of concern to local residents and users of the river and has been well documented during the Planning process.
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