I paid a visit to Rainham Marshes today as the weather forecast seemed OK, if a bit windy. The wind pretty much ruled out any serious macro, except for larger stuff on the boardwalks and fences. Around the bird woodland boardwalk there were plenty of common or viviparous lizards.
However this one was a bit different…
It has two tails! I didn’t spot it until it ran off after this photo and Susan pointed it out! This has happened where the lizard has attempted to shed its tail, perhaps to escape a predator, but it has not completely detached. It has detached enough however to stimulate the regrowth of another tail. I’m not sure how common or rare this is.
The sun kept disappearing behind the clouds and the lizards seemed very keen to catch all the sun available, so some were quite tolerant, allowing some close ups with my 100mm macro.
And I got even closer at times with my 35mm wide angle macro!
But it wasn’t all about the lizards today. I spotted a common shrew briefly and these magpies decided to pose.
There were a few young little grebes about too. I managed one half decent shot of this chick.
A just too distant reed warbler was singing near the new hide.
And I got my obligatory marsh frog shot.
And finally something a little different – the Goodyear blimp!
Great photos. Keep meaning to get down to Rainham Marshes.
That two-tailed lizard is something special. Great set of shots.