Psssss….. is that a steam engine I can hear??
The MPLR reserve manager was enthralled and (just a little bit) surprised the other afternoon to discover a new species on the reserve. Was it a sighting at last of the guffinhawk? Have we got the lesser spotted platypuss? Pssss… what’s that noise? Actually, it was a pair of grass snakes! They were seen originally near the waterfall at the waterworks and surprised Mr and Mrs F Controller out of their skins (luckily the snakes kept theirs!) but a camera was soon called for to confirm the sighting. This morning Mrs F Controller was able to take a very quick photo before they disappeared again.
As the picture shows the grass snake is curled up on the rocks just above the waterfall. Unfortunately it was moving quite fast and so a better photo is yet to be taken, but we can get a slightly closer look!
So, next time you hear something hissing when you visit the MPLR it may not be just the release of steam!
We hope that all you train enthusiasts will forgive us just this once for putting in this diary something that has nothing to do with trains! It is not often that you come across a protected species in your garden!