![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/Portrait-of-Alex-Hyde-Alex-Hyde-c6208b7.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>The \u2018Gems in the Dunes\u2019 project, part of the wider Back from the Brink conservation programme, aimed to document life on the sand dunes flanking the Sefton Coast in Merseyside. This 20km long corrugated fringe of sand is the UK\u2019s largest undeveloped dune system \u2013 bustling with rare insects, reptiles and amphibians. See below for this enchanting set of images.<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/08-Northern-Dune-Tiger-Beetle-Cicindela-hybrida-Head-Alex-Hyde-6c490b0.jpg?quality=90&resize=275%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>The vicious-looking mandibles of a northern dune tiger beetle are intimidating enough \u2013 but it\u2019s those huge eyes that make it such a formidable predator. \u201cThey have incredible vision,\u201d says Alex, \u201cand can spot prey from far away, but they\u2019re so quick \u2013 among the world\u2019s fastest insects \u2013 that they experience motion blur in their vision while running down prey, and have to pause frequently to reacquire targets.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/16-Sand-Lizard-male-Lacerta-agilis-Alex-Hyde-5b130dc.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>A sand lizard<\/a>, sporting the striking yellow-green flanks typical of Sefton males during the breeding season, basks in the sunshine to warm up before hunting and to speed up sperm maturation. This is an important stronghold for Britain\u2019s rarest lizard, which is why efforts to create and conserve habitat here are so vital.<\/p>\n Photography can be challenging in the dunes, where invertebrates such as this sand bear spider are camouflaged against the speckled grains \u2013 \u201cwhen they\u2019re not dashing off to hunt like greased lightning\u201d, adds Alex. This is another species benefiting from habitat management by the Gems in the Dunes team: volunteers clear scrub and create bare sand.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> \u00a0<\/p>\n On spring nights at Sefton, Alex was serenaded by male natterjack toads<\/a> calling to females \u2013 audible up to 2km away. \u201cThis picture was taken just past midnight in May,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was a particularly good night for natterjacks \u2013 they all emerged from their burrows and either went to the dune slacks to mate, or to the shore to feast on sand hoppers and other invertebrates.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Strings of toad-spawn lace freshwater pools in the dune slacks at Sefton, home to possibly a quarter of the UK\u2019s natterjack population. Creation and restoration of such shallow pools is vital for natterjacks; their warm water helps tadpoles develop quickly. Over four years, dozens of volunteers with the Gems from the Dunes project undertook surveys of natterjack toadspawn and adults to produce local population estimates.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe same habitat that suits natterjack toads is also good for other species, such as this broad-bodied chaser dragonfly larva, possibly about to snack on a tadpole,\u201d observes Alex. \u201cI always find it slightly unsettling to witness invertebrates predating vertebrate species.\u201d The larva is covered by algae in which sand grains have become embedded, providing it with camouflage against the sandy bottom of the pool.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/19-Arctosa-perita-Alex-Hyde-8866a70.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>More UK wildlife galleries:\u00a0<\/h4>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/25-Natterjack-Toad-Epidalea-calamita-Alex-Hyde-4fb48aa.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/28-Natterjack-Toad-Epidalea-calamita-spawn-Alex-Hyde-5679cd0.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>More on toads and other amphibians:<\/h4>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/AH_Tadpoles-Natterjack-Toad-Alex-Hyde-52edbe3.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2021\/10\/34-White-Satin-Moth-Leucoma-salicis-Caterpillar-Alex-Hyde-8d12af7.jpg?quality=90&resize=275%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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