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Grass Snakes can be found all over the garden, causing consternation for many visitors and staff alike. These harmless, olive green, snakes are more likely to play dead and emit a foul smell when threatened than bite anyone. Their main diet is amphibians and they can often be seen sunning themselves on pathways or swimming across stretches of water. Female snakes are larger than their male counterparts and lay their eggs in heaps of rotting vegetation, the heat from the decomposing matter and warmth from the sun being enough to allow the eggs to hatch.
Green Woodpeckers are amongst the noisiest birds living in the garden - their laughing call carrying well throughout the year giving rise to their other name of "Yaffle". Two other Woodpeckers, the Greater and the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, are also present throughout the year, although in spring, the drumming of the males and the chasing display flight is very entertaining. Green Woodpeckers are often seen on the lawns looking for ants to eat especially in the area of the Emperor's Walk.
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