Sand Lizard in Newbury

I always fancied myself as a naturalist. As a youngster brought up in Central London my favorite places were London Zoo and The Natural History Museum. Both were just short bus or tube train rides away. On a wet Saturday I could be found sketching whales or dinosaurs in the N.H.M. Sad I know, but the joy of the natural world and biology drew me at first to Medicine
(aged 11) and I knew I was aiming for dentistry by the time I was 16.

So I was so excited this afternoon when my wife called out from the garden where she had been sweeping the patio. He eagle eyes had spotted a small lizard. I recognised it as a Sand Lizard but even as I write this blog post I am unsure how rare it is in the wilds of this corner of West Berkshire. Here is a description on the Wild England website where it says they "can only be found in Dorset and Surrey in undisturbed heathland with thick vegetation and bare patches of sand". Now there are two areas of heathland that I know of locally ( possibly others too). These are the commons at Greenham and Bucklebury both of which are several miles away. One on the far side of Newbury town , the other across clay woodlands, farmland and village gardens.
Time to contact BBONT

So here are the pics taken with excited shaking hands and a Fujifilm 10 mega pixel camera with macro selected.