Despite spending much of my free time out in the countryside observing nature for as long as I can remember I recently stumbled across a new find in the form of a plant I’d never seen before.

Whilst it isn’t rare it is most exotic-looking and my first thought when I saw it was that this plant had blown in as a seed from a nearby garden. After some research I managed to identify the plant as a mullein. Whilst there are a number of different mulleins in the UK it seems from my research that the plant I found was the largest (and seemingly commonest) of the group – known as Great Mullein.

Great or Common Mullein, latin name Verbascum thapsus, is an impressive plant that can reach over 6 feet in height with rosettes of large leaves each one cloaked in bristly white hairs giving it a Mediterranean look and the appearance of greyish foliage thanks to the combination of the white hairs on the green leaves.

Just as interestingly while trying to get a number of photos of the plant to help me identify it I stumbled across a number of large, brightly-coloured caterpillars feeding on the plant.

The combination of a minty green background together with the yellow and black spots gives it a most attractive and indeed impressive appearance. It turns out that these are the caterpillars of the mullein moth though I was somewhat disappointed that the adult moth itself is far less impressive in appearance that the larvae.

If you’re out and about in the late spring and early summer keep an eye out for mullein which thanks to it’s size and shape is easy to identify – and watch for caterpillars feeding on it.

Louise Stanion from luxury holidays operator Cox & Kings discovers the little known treasures of Rwanda.

There is a long row of tall, African drums lined up in the courtyard of Butare’s National Museum. The cowhide drum skins of brown and cream are held in place by an intricate rope system; behind which are tucked two drum sticks. There is an air of expectancy about the whole set up as a few locals sit on a nearby stone wall, shuffling their feet.

After a while the drums are moved around the back and we are led to a covered stage surrounded by beautiful gardens. Crouched low on handmade stools I was unaware that we were about to witness one of the finest examples of Rwanda’s dynamic dance styles.

The Intore Dancers have been dancing for centuries.

At the time of the monarchy, before the arrival of the Europeans, the Intore Dancers at the royal court were young men who had received a privileged education and choreographic training in order to entertain their masters and to perform at special functions. The name intore means ‘The Chosen Ones’ signifying that only the best of them were selected for this special honour.

Originally their performances consisted mainly of warlike dances, such as ikuma (lance), umeheto (bow) and ingabo (shield), in which they carried authentic weapons. Nowadays, dummy weapons have been substituted and the dances have been given peaceful names. Although rhythm and movement rather than warfare have now become their main feature, the dances are no less impressive.

Today the show was a varied one and started with a group of female singers clapping and swaying to a heavy drumbeat. The young men, with their colourful costumes, expressive faces and long white wigs of flowing horsehair, took centre stage. I switched my camera to its fastest shutter speed and followed them as they dipped their hips low towards the ground and jumped up high into the air as the music reached a crescendo. They seemed to have the flexibility of a child coupled with the strength of a fully-grown warrior. The female dancers, although calmer, were equally striking in the energetic connection that they made with the audience. Totally involved and in their element, the performers were enjoying themselves regardless of our presence. We were just an excuse.

So immediately engaged was I in this tiny country, it was hard to believe that we had been in Rwanda for less than 24 hours.

It was only this morning that we had sat on the roof terrace of the recently refurbished Hotel Des Milles Collines, (made famous for its central role in the sheltering of Tutse refugees during the genocide) listening as Jimmy, our guide, briefed us over breakfast. The view of Kigali, which straddles several hills, was impressive. Everything of interest in Rwanda is within a 5-hour drive of here, Jimmy explained, making this small, land-locked country an excellent place to explore by road.

Kigali itself has all the usual characteristics of a colourful, bustling, noisy African city but it is surprising clean, safe and European in feel. The pavements are spotless and the bus timetables are carefully posted up at each stop.

Soon after leaving Kigali, an artist’s landscape of green terraces began to open up. No space is left uncultivated. Known as the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’, the whole of West and Central Rwanda is broken up by dramatically steep mountains interspersed with stunning blue lakes. Once a landscape of montane rainforest, tea plantations and banana trees now dominate although a huge tract of this ancient forest is preserved in the Nyungwe Forest National Park.

Rwanda is wonderfully rich in colour. Travelling by road provides a fascinating insight into daily village life and gives a clear sense of what Africa’s most densely populated country looks like on the ground. Hardly fifty metres of road passed us by without some form of life, animal or human. Travelling west, the scenery is positively Alpine and reminiscent of the Italian lakes. The road joining Kibuye and Gisenyi, both pretty ports situated on the edge of Lake Kivu, is a highlight. Expensive villas dotted high on the mountainside contrast with the busy, more basic rural life that exists lower down. Crowds gather together on market days creating a splash of moving colour on an otherwise green backdrop. Both ports provide an opportunity to take a break from driving, enjoy some grilled tilapia (a lake fish) and relax on the sandy beaches.

Gisenyi, the most northerly of the two ports, is just an hour by road from the gorilla tracking base of Ruhengeri. Once here, I head to the Virunga Lodge, an eco-friendly establishment close to the Volcanoes National Park. Ten rustic but very comfortable bandas are perched high on a hilltop, giving an outstanding panoramic view of the twin lakes, Ruhondo and Bulera, as well as the 15,000 ft volcanoes that inhabit the park.

The lodge is about 45 minutes from the park headquarters and so an early start is called for on gorilla tracking day. Over the past decade, Rwanda’s mountain gorilla population has increased by more than 10% and today 300 gorillas live in the misty forests. There are now 7 habituated troops which typically consist of a silverback male, his 3 or 4 wives and several young infants. It can take anything between 20 minutes and 4 hours to find the gorillas; depending on what group you are tracking. We came across the Sabyinyo group after about 90 minutes.

Without doubt, looking into the eyes of a mountain gorilla is one of Africa’s most memorable wildlife experiences and it was indeed a privilege to spend an hour with these huge creatures. As is usual, the infants were very active, moving quickly from branch to branch. Occasionally they would roll too close to the seated Silverback, who would open his eyes nonchalantly and swat them away briskly, like you would a mosquito. His touch sent them flying through the air and landing with a thud on the ground. The wives sat separately, quietly grooming, whilst the younger males also kept their distance.

There is plenty to do in the area aside from gorilla tracking.

You can climb a volcano, track the golden monkey in the bamboo forests, visit the zoologist Dian Fossey’s grave or go for a gentle stroll around the picturesque villages near the lakes. Virunga Lodge also regularly invites the Intore Dancers to perform and provides a well needed on-site massage after a gorilla track.

The trip was drawing to a close and on returning to Kigali our last stop was the Genocide Memorial. Hardly a family in Rwanda was left untouched by this event, but although there is still great sadness, the country has transformed itself into a vibrant and welcoming nation. The memorial, with its meditation garden, catalogues the details of the genocide using photographs, videos and written accounts including personal testimonies.

Rwanda is a spirited country run by a progressive government under the leadership of the popular Paul Kagame. His ‘2020 Vision’ has already started to move Rwanda out of poverty and into a new era of reconciliation and development. A largely unknown gem, in which the gorillas take centre stage, Rwanda is also a country full of hills, mountains, forests, lakes, markets, drummers, dancers, artisans and craftsman.

Cox & Kings offers tailor-made holidays to Rwanda.

 
photo credit: anabis

Something long and thin wriggles past you in the countryside. The knee-jerk response may be that you’ve just seen a snake but how can you be certain that what you’ve seen isn’t a slow worm instead? Let’s take a closer look at slow worms and the different species of snake present in the UK to give you a better idea of how to correctly identify and distinguish between snakes and slow worms.

There are a number of factors that can help us to tell the difference between slow worms and snakes. Some are “dead certs” – almost guaranteed to ensure you have the correct identification – whilst others are less certain and in these cases it may be necessary to use a number of different factors in order to be reasonably confident about an identification.

This is especially so if you only had a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of your eye rather than a good long look at the reptile in question. Wherever possible – both to make identification easier and to serve as a reminder in the future – try to take a few photographs of the animal in question.

These don’t need to be “award winning” nature photographs – certainly mine aren’t – but when a creature could vanish at any second grabbing a few quick pictures that you can analyze at your leisure later on can not only make your identifications more accurate but also more enjoyable as you sit and ponder them at a later date in the comfort of your own home.

Body Shape

Whilst the body of most snakes tends to taper gently from the mid section down to a fine point at the end of the tail the slow worm typically appears far chunkier with the “tail” appearing far blunter and ending far more sharply. In addition, be aware that unlike snakes, slow worms can “drop” their tails like many other lizards and so this can lead to an even “stubbier-looking” tail than normal.

Head Shape

The head shape differs between slow worms and snakes but it can be quite a subtle feature so isn’t recommended as the only identification source. In general the species of British snakes tend to have rather flatter-looking heads than the higher, rounder head of the slow worm. Remember that the slow worm is a lizard and not a snake and when you look closely at them it can be quite easy to see that their head is more lizard-like than snake-like.

Colouration

Grass snakes, smooth snakes and adders all typically have quite clearly-defined patterns to help with camouflage. Spots and stripes are common in these species while the slow worm is typically a reasonably uniform brown in colour. Younger specimens may have stripes of colour but these tend to be longitudinal (from head to tail) rather than the more lateral marking of, for example, an adder.

Prey

British snakes feed on a variety of prey including frogs and small mammals but slow worms are rather different in that they prefer small invertebrate prey. Slugs are a perfect example of the type of food they enjoy and so should you see a “slow worm” eating a frog for example, it’s almost certainly actually a snake.

Eyes

Snakes have sealed eyelids through which they see which makes them appear to have no eyelids. As a result they are also incapable of blinking. As lizards however, slow worms do have eye lids and with patience you may even see them blink. Blinking, therefore, is a guaranteed indicator that what you have seen is a slow worm and not a snake.

Size

Of course baby snakes are smaller than adults but overall slow worms are far smaller than most of the British species of snake. Baby slow worms – which are born live rather than in egg form – can be just a few inches long and even the adult rarely exceed more than a foot. Compare this to the size that an adder or a grass snake may achieve and a smaller-sized, serpent-like creature is more likely to be a slow worm than a snake.

Habitat

Thanks to their preferred prey, slow worms are most likely to be seen after rain and/or in the early evening where they will be searching for small invertebrates to eat. In contrast adders and grass snakes are often seen basking in the heat of the day though a slow worm that has been disturbed from it’s hiding place may still be seen at these times of day.

Adders, generally, seem to prefer heathland habitats, grass snakes those with open water in the form of ponds or streams while slow worms can be seen in a variety of habitats though grassland areas is where they are most often observed.

Conclusion

Telling a slow worm from a snake can take a little practise but hopefully you can see there are a number of factors that you can use to help you make a definitive identification.

photo credit: Frank.Vassen

Cast adrift in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar has been separated from other landmasses for longer than any other island on earth. For tens of millions of years evolution has played here in virtual isolation, heading off at a different tangent to the rest of the world.

This lengthy geographical separation is key to the otherworldliness of the wildlife you’ll see in Madagascar today. Between 80 and 90 percent of the island’s plants and terrestrial animals exist nowhere else. There are no giraffes or elephants, nor lions or tigers. Indeed Madagascar has no native large mammals or even representatives of the cat or dog families. Numerous other globally widespread animal groups are also conspicuously lacking and their very absence has been a significant factor in allowing so many new species to emerge and thrive on this remarkable island.

Image via Wikipedia

Primates are a case in point: Madagascar is the exclusive home of around a quarter of all primate species on our planet, yet there are no monkeys or great apes. Aside from humans – who are not thought to have settled the island until a mere 2,000 years ago – all the primate inhabitants belong to a group known as lemurs. And they exist in glorious variety: more than 100 different species and subspecies – big and small, nocturnal and diurnal, social and solitary, adorably cute and downright freaky.

A single common ancestor gave rise to the potpourri of lemurs you’ll spot in Madagascar’s forests today. Sometime between 40 and 60 million years ago, it is thought an ancestral lemur – a single pregnant female or perhaps a couple huddled together – was swept out to sea in a violent storm on the African coast. The creature was washed up on the shores of Madagascar, having survived the ocean crossing against all the odds, probably by clinging to a raft of floating vegetation. It would have crawled up the beach sodden, exhausted and entirely unaware of the pioneering significance of its arrival. It was to prove a fortuitous journey for its kind indeed, because not long afterwards they were wiped out on mainland Africa in the face of growing competition from their newly evolved and more advanced monkey cousins.

Madagascar, on the other hand, would have been a welcoming place for the new arrivals. With few potential predators and an inviting array of different habitats and ecological niches to exploit, the early lemurs rapidly spread out and diversified into numerous different forms in a process biologists call adaptive radiation. Each new species became specialised in making the most of a different environment and finding nourishment from a different range of foods.

As a group the lemurs flourished. Some developed powerful back legs to propel themselves from tree to tree, leaping through the rainforest canopy; others adapted to foraging on the ground. Some evolved highly sensitive sight and hearing enabling them to be active at night, while others sought safety in numbers and began to live in social groups. One species adopted a diet consisting almost exclusively of bamboo shoots, ingesting a dose of cyanide each day that would kill a human. Another opted to live semi-aquatically, in the reed beds of Madagascar’s largest lake.

Arguably the most specialised and certainly the most bizarre, of the lemurs is the aye-aye. It truly is unique, so much so that the first European scientists to receive a specimen from early explorers scratched their heads in bemusement and eventually classified it as a type of squirrel. Only after much debate and several reclassifications was it finally agreed that the aye-aye is in fact a kind of lemur. It is the sole species not only of its genus, but also in its entire family, meaning there is nothing else in existence remotely like it.

Image via Wikipedia

Aye-ayes are nocturnal cat-sized creatures with shaggy black coats, spending much of their lives high up in the canopy of both deciduous forests and rainforests. They have continually growing incisor teeth, just like rodents (part of the reason they were first thought to be squirrels), huge satellite-dish ears that can be swivelled to locate the faintest sound with pinpoint accuracy and a long, skeletally thin middle finger. These features collectively constitute a specialised toolkit for the aye-aye’s favourite activity: grub hunting.

Tapping rapidly on the bark of a tree, an aye-aye listens for the echo that indicates a hollow chamber within. So sensitive are its ears, they can detect the movement of grubs beneath the bark. Once such a snack has been located, the sharp teeth are used to gnaw a small hole into which the slim bony finger can be inserted to winkle the grubs out into the aye-aye’s waiting mouth.

In this way, the species has evolved to fill the ecological niche typically occupied throughout the rest of the world by woodpeckers – a group of birds which has never found its way to Madagascar. Little wonder that those early taxonomists had difficulty placing such an enigmatic creature in the system of biological classification.

Madagascar’s numerous protected areas allow plenty of opportunity for you to watch lemurs at work and play, such as the spectacular canyons of Isalo National Park in the central south. Isalo is famed for its dramatic scenery of majestic sandstone outcrops. The area is excellent for hiking and popular with botanists for its numerous succulent plants, several of which are endemic to the local area. It’s also a wonderful place to watch the iconic ring-tailed lemurs, handsome teddy-bearfaced Verreaux’s sifakas and ever-curious red-fronted brown lemurs. Three further species are active in the reserve by night.

Even greater numbers of lemur species can be seen in Madagascar’s lush rainforest reserves in the east and north of the country. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is the most easily accessible, yet also among the most rewarding. The highlight here is the indri – the largest of all lemurs. These endangered animals live in small family groups and resemble oversized, enchantingly fluffy, black-and-white koalas. Every morning their eerie wailing carries for kilometres across the forest as the groups call to one another. Being woken by this hauntingly beautiful song is a memory that stays with you forever. And seeing the indri is a truly unique Madagascar experience, for no zoo has ever succeeded in keeping this species alive in captivity.

Andasibe-Mantadia is home to no fewer than 11 other types of lemur, as well as countless birds, reptiles and frogs. Among the reptiles found here is the mighty Parson’s chameleon – the largest chameleon in the world, measuring up to 70cm from nose to tail tip (although it might need the help of your guide to spot it camouflaged on a branch).

Just like the lemurs, dozens of chameleon species have evolved and adapted to nearly every habitat in Madagascar: almost half of the world’s species are native to this one island. They are fittingly outlandish characters. We all know that chameleons possess the extraordinary ability to turn different colours – some species more strikingly than others – but, contrary to traditional wisdom, their colour change normally reflects their mood rather than their background. Some, on meeting a potential mate, or when faced with a rival trespassing on their territory, will puff themselves up and explode into an alarming kaleidoscopic display of polychromatic emotional expression.

A chameleon’s eyeballs are arguably as interesting. Armour-plated, with only the small pupil exposed, they swivel like gun turrets: operating independently so one looks forward, as the other watches for dangers from behind. But once a chameleon spots potential prey – a juicy cricket, perhaps – the two roving eyes are coupled for binocular vision. Focusing on the target, together the eyes give the chameleon three-dimensional vision, so distances can be judged. This is critical, for the creature to unleash its deadly weapon accurately: its tongue. The chameleon’s highly elastic tongue can typically be extended by a full body length. It is unleashed with impressive accuracy and at lightning speed: taking just three hundredths of a second to hit its prey – faster than the perception of the human eye and more importantly, faster than most insects’ reactions. The tongue’s tip is slightly sticky with mucus but actually grabs the prey by forming a suction cup. It is then swiftly reeled back, to be crunched up by strong jaws and a set of tiny sharp teeth.

Meanwhile, at little more than two percent the length of a giant Parson’s chameleon, the pygmy stump-tailed chameleon is the world’s smallest and another unique resident of Madagascar. Considerably smaller even than some of the insects with which they share their forest floor habitat, these miniature lizards are among the tiniest of all reptiles: though they can be spotted with the help of a keen-eyed guide at Montagne d’Ambre National Park in the far north of the country. Montagne d’Ambre is the oldest of the national parks, protecting an isolated area of montane rainforest with a well-maintained trail system. You’ll find a wide and wonderful array of chameleons here, as well as a huge variety of geckos and frogs. Birding is good in the park, and you’ll often spot lemurs, as well as ring-tailed mongooses. Among the luxuriant plant life on show, are countless beautiful and delicate orchids: with more than 1,000 species, Madagascar has more varieties of orchid than the whole of mainland Africa.

Now, more than ever, is the time to visit Madagascar. Despite more than 90 percent of its original forest having been lost, Madagascar is still arguably the most important of all our biodiversity hotspots. The sheer array of flora and fauna is staggering – but increasingly under threat. As the country grapples with rising levels of poverty, a rapidly growing population in need of land for crops and charcoal to cook with, illegal  logging of precious hardwoods, slash-and-burn agriculture, oil and mining projects with potentially serious environmental impacts, it is clear that massive conservation challenges lie ahead. But ecotourism provides local employment and generates much-needed revenue to help Madagascar tackle some of these issues. At the same time this reinforces the message that the country’s natural heritage is a valuable asset worth protecting. But whatever your reason for visiting, you’ll waste no time discovering that to experience Madagascar, is to experience nature in all her glory.

Madagascar Facts

Location: Madagascar lies off Africa’s south-east coast and is the fourth largest island in the world. It is in the Indian Ocean and separated from Africa by the 500-mile wide Mozambique Channel.

Population: 19.5 million

Languages: Malagasy is the national language, the other official language is French.

Time: GMT +3

Money: The Malagasy ariary (MGA) . Currently MGA3,247,440 to UK£1.

When To Go: There are only two seasons in Madagascar: wet and dry. The hot, wet season lasts from December to March (including the cyclone season in February and March). The cooler, drier season lasts from April to November.

Where To Stay: Mandrare River Camp, close to Fort Dauphin in the south of the island, is the finest luxury camping experience in Madagascar. Spot lemurs in the gallery forests, learn about the local Antandroy tribe and enjoy the excellent food.

What To Read: Madagascar: A World Out of Time by Frans Lanting. This book is primarily a portfolio of almost one hundred photographs taken in Madagascar by Frans Lanting, who has been described as “the most versatile wilderness photographer working today”. The photographs were commissioned and financed by the National Geographic Society.

What Not To Miss: Seeking out the indri indri in Andasibe National Park, Madagascar’s largest lemur. Whale watching by boat at Manafiafy Beach & Rainforest Lodge in the south-east corner of the island.

Best Meal: Malagasy curry with a fruit dessert prepared with local vanilla.

Insider Tip: Do not try to cover the whole island in a two-week holiday, it is about the size of France and the infrastructure means that flying is necessary. Pick two or three key areas and focus on them.

Cox & Kings offers luxury holidays and tailor-made holidays to Madagascar.

Most of us are familiar with the “domestic” privet that makes dense hedges up and down the country but it’s possible that you won’t be familiar with it’s wilder and more interesting cousin the wild privet.

Unlike the clipped hedges of suburbia wild privet is not a very dense or indeed tall-growing plant and may only reach 30cm of so in height as an adult plant. The overall impression is one of a leggy, scruffy bush with leaves very reminiscent of an olive. These “olive-like” leaves make perfect sense because wild privet is closely related to the olive plant and indeed taxonomists have placed them in the same family thanks to their similarity.

Possibly the most interesting – and surprising – thing about wild privet are the flowers which it bears in early summer. These lilac-like bracts are pure, glossy white with an almost waxy appearance and can be several inches in length on larger specimens.

Best of all they have a rich, sweet scent to them that reminded me of honeysuckle. In other words if you find a wild privet in flower on your nature walks it’s well worth taking the time to get down on your knees and give it a good sniff as it’s one of the most pleasantly-scented British flowers I have personally come across.

photo credit: markus.hoppe

The mustelids are a group of mammals which in the UK include badgers, otters, polecats, stoats and weasels. Of these the greatest problems with identification seem to be how to tell a weasel from a stoat and so I thought a few pointers may come in useful.

Fortunately once you know the differences between these otherwise superficially similar animals it is actually quite easy to tell them apart though of course you have to remember which one is which!

Weasels

photo credit: Cecil Sanders

Weasels are surprisingly small mammals despite their fearsome reputation as talented hunters of small rodents. They typically reach a body length of around 8 inches long and in cross section are rarely larger than a mouse. The general shape is one of a small, long, wavy mammal with a short tail.

Weasels are carnivores like stoats and will eat anything they can catch which often means small rodents like mice and voles. Their small body means they struggle to catch anything larger but it also means they are able to follow their prey into tiny holes where a mammal like a stoat would struggle to fit.

Weasels may be seen in a range of habitats including woodland and wild meadows and I even saw one last year hiding under a bush in a National Trust garden as dozens of visitors unknowingly walked within a couple of feet of it.

Stoats 

Stoats are much larger than weasels and may grow to become the size of a small adult ferret with a body length around 16 inches. The tail is also a very useful tip for identification because unlike the weasels it typically has a black tip on it.

In my experience, while I have seen both mammals on many occasions the stoat, being rather larger and bolder, is far more likely to be seen.

In addition the stoat’s larger size means it is able to take correspondingly larger prey with rabbits being well within it’s reach. This means they may be seen hunting on open grassland sometimes and if you are downwind of them you can watch their amazingly quick and acrobating hunting technique.

In photographs these two mammals appear very similar indeed but remember the old adage of a “sizable stoat and a wee weasel” to remember that the stoat is much larger and keep an eye out for that black tail. Those two elements combined are normally enough to safely identify these mammals even at a glance, such as when one ducks across a footpath in the countryside some distance ahead of you.

photo credit: Duncan~

Around our shore there are two commonly seen British seals – namely the Grey Seal and the Common Seal. While at first glance one seal may look very much like another when you know what you’re looking for these two species are actually surprisingly easy to tell apart.

Whilst factors such as colouration, size and habitat can all play a part in correctly identifying seals there is one tip that will let you tell the difference between Common Seals and Grey Seals easily and quickly.

If you’re in the right part of the country, such as Blakeney Point in Norfolk, you can often see seals hauled up out of the water, bathing in the sunshine to dry out their fur and generally having a good scratch.

But most siting of seals are of one or more of these mammals swimming along in the sea with just their head above the water as they keep an eye out for both predators and prey. Fortunately it’s the head that is the ideal identification tool when it comes to deciding whether what you just saw was a Common or Grey Seal meaning that it’s virtually impossible to see a seal in the UK without being able to tell what species it is.

Grey Seal

The grey seal has an elongated head often likened to that of a dog with a long, upturned snout giving it a slightly more predactory look. Take a look at the following photo to get a better idea of the general head shape of a grey seal:

photo credit: Szymon Nitka

Common Seal

The common seal (which incidentally isn’t as common as the grey seal these days!) has a shorter snout and generally a rounder, “cuter” face. It’s the type of face guaranteed to get an “aah!” from children when they see one while the grey seal, whilst attractive in it’s own right, is far less appealing to eye for many people. Here’s a photo of a common seal to illustrate the point:

photo credit: davharuk

Test Time!

So as you can see these two species have very different face/head shapes and can quite easily be told apart. You’ve read the descriptions and seen the pictures so here are a few more for you to test your newfound knowledge out on – answers at the end!

Seal Photo 1:

photo credit: Sequoia Hughes

Seal Photo 2:

photo credit: kevinzim

Answers: picture number one is a common seal while picture number two is a grey seal. Did you get them right?!

photo credit: Danny Chapman

Adders (or vipers) are the UK’s only venomous snake and whilst quite a degree of fear still surrounds them from people who picture deadly cobras hiding in their garden these snakes are generally shy and retiring. Indeed if adders were easy to find then we wouldn’t need an article like this – we’d all be tripping over them and instead visitors to this site would be more likely to ask how to avoid adders

Like all reptiles, adders are fans of warm, dry weather where they can bask in the heat of the sun before hunting for prey. Cool, damp, grey weather tends not to suit them as well and they may well hide away out of view or – in the winter months – even aestivate to conserve vital energy.

Equally so, the warmer a snake gets the more active it becomes – and as it becomes more active so it also becomes faster moving and so harder to spot. The ideal situation to see adders is therefore early on in the morning of a warm, sunny day in summer. The early hours before the snakes get too active and before they get annoyed by dogs and their owners can be the best time so if you’re serious about seeing adders your best bet is to set your alarm and get up bright and early.

As for habitat, adders tend to prefer dry environments such as heathland and gorse-filled grassland. My latest siting of an adder was one hiding just under a gorse bush up ontop of Cissbury Ring in Sussex a short while ago.

Like most snakes, Adders are very sensitive to vibrations through the ground and so it is best to walk as lightly as possible if you’d like to see them – stomping around in heavy walking boots won’t do you any favours – and I prefer to walk slowly and deliberately in flexible trainers so I step as lightly as possible on the ground.

When seen in photographs adders appear to be quite obvious snakes with a background colour varying from olive green through brown to the common silver or grey over-laced with a dark black zigzag pattern down it’s back. However in the wild these markings can make it surprisingly difficult to see and in the right habitat on the right day you may well pass numerous specimens without even realizing it.

While adders can and do climb, they are most often seen on the ground and in the spring time males can sometimes be seen “fighting” for mates as they stand up high and attempt to “wrestle” other males to the ground.

The other British snakes are the smooth snake and the grass snake. Smooth snakes are now very rare indeed so it is highly unlikely you will encounter one while grass snakes tend to prefer damper habitats such as those with ponds and streams.

Consequently a useful tip for getting an idea of whether there are adders in your local area is to keep an eye out for shed skins in the types of habitats mentioned as these will almost certainly belong to an adder and show some recent activity. To slough a skin an adder will normally rub against a rough object such as an old tree stump or sharp bush so keeping your eyes peeled for these signs can be a good indicator that you are searching in the right area.

Have you seen an adder recently? If so please leave a comment below to let us know when, where and how – we’d love to hear from you!

Whilst I appreciate the benefits of spotting scopes I have generally shied away from them because whilst I enjoy watching wildlife close up seeing serious birders carting around heavy and bulky scopes through the countryside just doesn’t look like much fun to me so instead I have generally relied on a decent pair of binoculars for getting “up close and personal” with nature.

However on a recent trip to Costa Rica I got chatting to a guide we hired who swears by his scope and having had the opportunity to try his out I now find myself something of a convert quite simply due to the ability to get far closer to wildlife than is possible with plain old binoculars.

Furthermore he was using a Celestron 52250 80mm Ultima zoom spotting scope which seems to me to cover all the bases in that it is excellent value for money, produces high quality images even over long distances yet is compact enough not to be cumbersome. I thought after my own experiences with this scope that a detailed Celestron 52250 review might come in useful for other wildlife fanatics considering purchasing a new scope.

Bright Images

Most popular spotting scopes seem to have a lens of around 60mm while the Celestron 55250 spotting scope uses an 80mm lens. While this may not sound too exciting at face value this means that the 55250 lets in more light than most competing scopes. The increased light not only means brighter images for you – making viewing wildlife through the scope more pleasant – but it also means a sharper, crisper image so you can see much more detail in the images you observe. For a nature fan like me this helps greatly in identifying birds even from some distance away where the differences between two species can be tiny.

Refracting Scope Design

The Celestron 52250 80mm Ultima zoom spotting scope is a refracting scope which means it does not use internal mirrors to reflect the image around the inside of the scope. This classic design generally means a clearer image because of the lack of reflection but also means a sturdier, more reliable construction. Typically the only downside of refracting scopes (which are generally considered the best type of scope) is the cost involved because the lenses need to be that much more accurate. Fortunately the Celestron 52250 manages to accomplish this without breaking the bank.

Achromatic Lenses

As the magnification of a spotting scope goes up, the light passing through the lenses typically lead to discoloration. This is due primarily to the way light is split as it passes through the lenses and so can result in you observing unnatural colors. Clearly when identifying wildlife accurate color representation is important and this is where the technology of achromatic lenses come in which are specifically designed to provide a more natural color representation for you.

Zoom Lens

The Celestron 52250 benefits from a zoom lens which will take you from 20x magnification right up to 60x. While it is a simple fact of life that the quality of the image will drop slightly at higher magnifications it is useful to have a way to quickly and easily zoom in on an animal to see additional detail or behavior. The simple, reasonably-sized control of the zoom lens means you can keep your eye on whatever you are watching whilst zooming in rather than having to take your eye away from the lens to zoom in, only to find you’ve lost sight of whatever it was you were looking at.

Ease Of Use

The Celestron 55250 spotting scope is not designed as a top-of-the-range scope which can cost several thousand dollars but rather a mid-range scope suitable for natural history fans and so on and it has therefore been designed specifically for ease of use. The zoom lens already mentioned helps with this, as does the built-in “site tube” for quickly picking up what you’re looking for before you zero in with the zoom lens.

The 55250 has a rubber eye cup so it can be used safely by spectacle-wearers like me as well as those with perfect eye-sight and it is also possible to mount a digital camera using the “t” fitting to enable you to take stunning wildlife photos from a considerable distance away.

Lightweight Construction For More Practical Use

As mentioned, I don’t want to lug around a scope that weighs as much as I do as it would simply spoil my enjoyment of a country walk but many of the other Celestron 55250 reviews I have read, as well as my own experiences, suggest that while this is a high quality scope with a good build quality it is neither too large (it measures roughly 20 inches long by 6 inches by 7 inches) to carry around over extended periods of time nor too heavy to make your shoulder ache so seems like the perfect compromise between power and practicality.

Sturdy Design Capable To Taking Knocks In The Field

Even the best spotting scopes will be of little use if they are going to break with normal use but the Celestron 55250 seems to be a sturdy piece of kit capable to taking normal use in it’s stride.

Additional benefits to keep your scope in top condition include the carry case (which comes included as standard) which will not only protect your scope from knocks but can be also left on the scope while it is being used to add further protection and also to speed up use. If you see some wildlife in the distance the last thing you want to do is spend five minutes getting your scope out of it’s case so it’s ready to use only to find that the animal has gone.

Lastly the 55250 has waterproof casing can can be safely used in the rain without risk of damage or fogging so this really is a rugged and very practical piece of kit.

Lifetime Warranty

To back up my comments about the build quality of the 55250 this scope also comes with a lifetime warranty for peace of mind.

What Others Are Saying

The Celestron 55250 spotting scope is tremendously popular due to it’s high quality image, practical design and very reasonable cost so there are plenty of Celestron 55250 reviews online for those who care to look but here are a few comments I have gathered during my own research:

“I was able to identify and see all colors of a kestrel nearly a quarter mile away!”

“For this price range the Celestron 52250 spotting scope was the best value. After purchasing this product from Amazon.com I couldn’t be happier. I’ve found the quality of the image at all magnifications to be outstanding with no distortion even at the edge of the field of view.”

“Celestron has always made good quality/value scopes, and this one is no exception. You’ll love the extra brightness that the larger diameter objective lens gives you, and the zoom eyepiece is about as good as you’ll find. Once focused, images are tack-sharp. For the money, this scope is hard to beat for its excellent build quality and good overall optical performance.”

“It is lightweight and its construction is rugged enough to handle my birding adventures through the bush. The focus and zoom are very simple, user-friendly, and easy to do in the field.”

How Much You Should Expect To Pay

The list price of this spotting scope is currently $298.95 though there are significant differences between what different retailers are currently charging for this model. Due to it’s popularity and reasonable cost there is a reasonable amount of competition between retailers to try and offer the best price and it is possible to shop around online and find some real bargains.

It seems at the time of writing that Amazon has the best deal where they are currently offering it for roughly half the list price and offering free delivery.

Complaints About The Celestron 52250 Spotting Scope?

The 55250 has almost total approval from everyone who has used it and has numerous glowing reviews. The only slight point directed at it from time to time is that the image quality isn’t quite as high as in some of the top range scopes however even these critics seem to agree that for the average user the image quality of the 52250 is more than acceptable and for the price you won’t find anything better.

Where Can You Read More Reviews Of The Celestron 52250?

A quick search in Google will turn up a range of Celestron 52250 spotting scope reviews however possibly the best place to read reviews from people who actually use this scope is on Amazon. Click here to read more reviews.

Where Can You Buy A 52250?

The Celestron 52250 scope is available from a wide range of retailers both online and offline but at present it seems like the best deal is on Amazon thanks to their low price, excellent customer service and free delivery. Click here to visit Amazon now.

As a passionate “bug hunter” who spends considerable time during the better months of the year out looking for insects to observe I have often thought that a pair of binoculars capable of a very close focus would be useful.

While spiders and so on can often be caught and observed under a magnifying glass, try doing that to a dragonfly and I think you’ll be sorely disappointed.

Wondering about my need recently I became rather excited about the Pentax 62216 Papilio 8.5×21 porro prism binocular when I saw comments like this:

“I couldn’t stop looking at the grains of wood, plants, bugs, etc. I put my face right up to some berries that were blue on cedar trees with my naked eye, then backed up a bit to see the same ones with the Pentax, and the extra detail that is seen is amazing with such a 3-D affect to boot.”

With this in mind, and with the potential interest from other nature fanatics for a small, lightweight yet sturdy pair of binoculars that can be used equally for long-distance observations or for looking at insects and flowers close-up in the field I thought that a Pentax 62216 Papilio review would be of use on this site.

Fully Coated Lenses

Pentax 62216 binoculars come as standard with fully coated optical lenses designed with two main functions in mind. Firstly the coating cuts down on glare from the sun giving you a superior view of whatever you are observing and secondly the coating reduces the amount of UV light which enters the binoculars.

This polarizing element is useful because UV light has been shown to damage the human eye and some lenses will strengthen this light which means extended use can be bad for your eyesight. The coating used for the lenses of the Pentax 62216 Papilio are specially treated to cut down the harmful UV light found in normal sunlight without having a detrimental effect on your viewing pleasure.

Ideal Magnification For The Field

In terms of binoculars many people mistakenly believe that the higher magnification the better however the magnification of a pair of binoculars needs to be taken in context. The Pentax 62216 Papilio offers a magnification of 8.5 times life size which is perfect for standard use – and in the particular case of the 66216 of objects reasonably close-up such as birds on a feeder, insects or flowers.

Increase the magnification too much further and you will find that every little movement of your hands will cause so much shake that the binoculars are unusable without a tripod. Whilst this isn’t the end of the world – and some people are happy to lug a tripod around all day – for many people being “tripod-free” makes the experience of using the Pentax 62216 far superior.

As a little sidenote, should you naturally have shaky hands the 66216 does infact have a tripod hole should you want to use them with one though for most people this will be unnecessary.

Convergent Lens Optical System Engineering

One of the biggest reasons that most binoculars cannot focus as closely as the Pentax 62216 Papilio is that the lenses are too far apart. Typically a pair of binoculars is like having two telescopes attached to one another in the middle and this means that the lenses need to be a similar distance apart as your eyes thus limiting how closely they can focus.

The Pentax 62216 however goes about this in a different way using technology that Pentax call Convergent Lens Optical System Engineering (or CLOSE for short) which is capable of moving the lenses closer together while still allowing a comfortable viewing experience for you. Users report being able to focus perfectly on objects just 20 inches or so away from the binoculars which means they are unlike anything else on the market.

Porro Prism Technology

As mentioned many pairs of binoculars are like two telescopes attached to one another but the Pentax 62216 instead uses porro prism technology. The Pentax 62216 uses a series of prisms inside the body of the binoculars to bend and refract the image so that the binoculars can be made to a more pocket-sized dimension than would be possible without the use of this technology. This means you still get a great viewing experience with the 62216 but have a pair of binoculars that are not so large as to become cumbersome when out in the field.

Practical Size And Weight

Big, powerful binoculars certainly have their place but when it comes to a nature walk it can also be nice to be accompanied by a sturdy yet less cumbersome pair of bins and this is where the Pentax 62216 Papilio come in so handy.

By using porro prism technology the 62216 come in at a very portable 4.6 x 4.3 x 2.2 inches in size and weigh in at roughly 2 lbs so they can be carried all day long around the neck, on your belt or in pocket without being uncomfortable. I find this useful in a pair of binoculars because you then have no excuse not to take them with you every time you go out for a walk.

Lifetime Warranty

The impressive build quality of the Pentax 62216 Papilio mean that for your peace of mind Pentax offer this pair of binoculars with a lifetime warranty as standard so you can be certain you are purchasing a rugged and reliable pair of binoculars.

Accessories Included

The Pentax 62216 comes complete with lens covers, a strap and a padded bag to keep your binoculars in top condition.

What Others Are Saying

Pentax 62216 Papilio binoculars are tremendously popular because of their small size, high quality image and also, let’s be honest, because there really are no competitors on the market that measure up to them so there are lots of Pentax 62216 Papilio reviews that can be found on the internet and the birding press but here are just a few that I found myself during my research:

“Being able to focus to 20 inches or so allows me to watch insects and spiders with as much detail as if my eye were just a couple inches from the object. The view is gorgeous.”

“This binocular is a wonderful instrument! Its close-focusing ability is nothing short of astonishing. Carrying one of these in the field is like having a long-distance dissecting microscope in your pocket. It was also easy to get a good image of distant objects; for example, to observe features on the mountain, or to identify birds in the trees at a range of roughly 50 meters. I certainly feel that it offers excellent value for the money.”

“When you consider the price it’s a no brainer.”

“Truly amazing. I couldn’t stop looking at the grains of wood, plants, bugs, etc.”

“It feels solid and very light.”

How Much You Should Expect To Pay

The list price of the Pentax 66216 is at the time of writing $200 although bargains can be found online with a little research. Amazon currently has the best deal I have found where they are available for less than $120 offering a saving of over $80 off the list price.

Complaints About The Pentax 62216 Papilio?

Of all the Pentax 62216 reviews I have read I have struggled to find any negative feedback from owners of these binoculars. While it seems strange to say every user seems to fall in love with the Papilio and the feedback on Amazon from previous customers is testament to this.

Where Can You Read More Reviews Of The Pentax 62216 Papilio?

A quick search in Google will turn up a range of Pentax 62216 Papilio reviews however possibly the best place to read reviews from people who actually use this scope is on Amazon. Click here to read more reviews.

Where Can You Buy The Pentax 62216?

The Pentax 66216 is available from a wide range of retailers both online and offline but at present it seems like the best deal is on Amazon thanks to their low price, excellent customer service and free delivery. Click here to visit Amazon now.