Today we checked up on the survey maps that we had left out three weeks ago in Grove Farm and it's good news. We've managed to find one so far. This is in contrast to the Ealing Sports Ground where under some rubbish 15 were found. An impressive collection.

If you don't know, slow-worms are lizards and completely harmless, although if you didn't know you might mistake them for snakes. Key differences between slow-worms and snakes are that slow-worms: have eyelids, a flat forked tongue, have no neck and can detach their own tail to escape from predators. The tail continuing to twitch while the slowworm makes it's escape.

A large slowworm can measure up to a foot and a half. Male slowworms are greyish brown and females are brown with dark sides with some female having a thin line down the back. Juvenile slow-worms are very thin and start life at only 4cm long, with black bellies and gold or silver dorsal sides. At dusk they will move out from their warm hide-hole to search for slugs, worms and insects to eat.

One more thing, if you are lucky to spot one, slow-worms are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so they should be left alone.

Slow-worm survey update. Today we checked up on the survey maps tat we had left out three weeks ago in Grove Farm and it's good news. We've managed to find one so far. This is in contrast to the Ealing Sports Ground where under some rubbish 15 were found. An impressive collection.