Hidden Treasure in my garden

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather here today, a cloudless sky and so little wind, we continued with the re-erecting of fence panels that the wind had demolished. While digging round round some old roots, to our big surprise out popped a slow worm. My first ever slow worm! (I’ve never seen one before) sometimes called the blindworm. It looks just like a cross between a snake and a worm, but really its a legless lizard.

Slow worm

A rather shy Slow worm

As slow worms are true too their name they feed mainly on other slow creatures like snails, slugs and insects, no rushing around to catch their prey, I am very pleased to have him in my garden.

Slow worm hibernation

Slow worm a protected species

October is the month they usually go into hibernation under leaves, roots so unfortunately we disturbed his peace. It wasn’t too happy posing for a photograph, so we just relocated it a bit further along in the undergrowth out of the way.

Slow worms to day are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 from being killed, injured or sold and are much less common than they used to be.