 |
  | ||||||
| Sefton Coast Partnership | Shoreline Management | Nature and Wildlife | Coastal Heritage | Visiting the Coast | Students and Teachers | Coastlines | |
|
Summer 1996The Beautiful Sand LizardArticle by Keith Corbett, Herpetological Conservation Trust.The sand lizard Lacerta agilis is the most beautiful, and also the most endangered, of our three native lizard species. It is stocky, with a deep set head, short legs and measures up to 20-24 cm. Colour is variable, but is usually brown or grey with an intricate pattern of light and dark blotchy markings on the sides and back. Often there are eye like spots along its body. Males have greenish flanks which become more vivid during the breeding season. The sand lizard inhabits mature dry heathlands and coastal sand dunes in areas dominated by dense marram grass. Here the vegetation provides a range of different conditions which allows the sand lizard to regulate its body temperature and to find cover from predators. Population losses in the past have been caused by habitat loss, inappropriate or lack of habitat management together with increased public pressure. Many of these threats are still continuing. The sand lizard is Britain's only egg laying lizard. It needs areas of open sand for incubating its eggs, which are laid in late spring, in short, carefully chosen burrows dug into the sand. Here they are warmed by the sun until they hatch in late summer. Sand lizards usually live in burrows dug into the ground, in cracks and crevices or underneath vegetation. Emerging from their burrows, they bask in the warmth of the morning sun and, when warm enough to become fully active, move into the vegetation to hunt. Their invertebrate prey includes a variety of spiders and beetles. In late afternoon, the lizards return to their burrows where they remain inactive overnight. Sand lizards remain in a state of torpor for 6 months in their burrows during winter; before emerging in the milder weather between late March and early May. Sand lizards are often found in colonies on banks and slopes. They may occupy the same small patch of ground throughout their life. The correct management of these features is particularly important for conserving this species. The sand lizard was once found throughout the dunes and heathlands of southern England. It was also found in the north western England and north Wales. It has been lost from much of this area and now only occurs naturally in scattered populations in Dorset, Surrey and on the Sefton Coast. Because of its endangered status the sand lizard is protected through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation (Natural Habitats & c.) Regulations 1994. Also it is protected through the Council of Europe's Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats ( the 'Bern Convention') of 1979 and, more recently, on the European Union's Habitats and Species Directive of 1992. Because of the continuing threats to the Sand Lizard, it has been included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme. The work is being led by the Herpetological Conservation Trust and has involved considerable support from a range of voluntary organizations, including the British Herpetological Society and the Wildlife Trusts, and other bodies such as Sefton Council and Forest Enterprise. The objectives of the project are to:
|
|
