Adder / Viper

[andyn]

Nearly trod on this little chap at lunch time.

Obviously was trying very hard to enjoy what little sunshine we are getting.

and off he finally went into the undergrowth:

 

[Matt Weir]

Beautiful markings there. I've never seen any of our native snakes myself, I bet you were well chuffed Andy

Thanks for the pic.

 

[andyn]

tis the first time ive seen one that hadn't been scurring away into the grass/bushes and all i got to see was the flash of its tail.

 

[sxmolloy]

Great pics Andy you lucky so and so......

 

[bloodline]

handsome fella, good job you had a camera ready

 

[Gailainne]

Nice photo, I had never seen one in the wild before, but then found this chap at my camp on the Vildmark course

a couple of us watched him hunting in the grass along the lake shore for a while, brilliant, just wished I'd remembered my camera had a video capacity

Stephen

 

[andyn]

Nice one Stephen.

Don't you think its a refreshing experiance when you see a new animal for the first time "in the flesh". Almost as if you've done something to deserve the reward. LOL

 

[Gailainne]

andyn
You've been to Prebens place so you know, I dont think I'll ever forget it, the addition of the chance to spot and watch things like the Viper, Beaver, deer, the Ospreys, and see spoor from Moose and we think we saw Linx kills as well. I have the photos up as a slideshow on my PC at work, I sometimes find myself just sitting watching them, with a big smile on my face.

Stephen

 

[hammock monkey]

i agree its a great experience when you see an animal in the flesh for the first time.
i think its all about being observant, its surprising what you can see even in city gardens if you keep your eyes peeled. storks, green woodpeckers, obv foxes, badgers etc - just a case of sitting still for a bit an being patient.
i think one of the most rewarding 'skills' is being able to sit still for a few hours. i've never come away dissapointed when i go out, and often you get a huge reward like playing badgers, or even just a shrew doing his rounds right beside you. most people dont realise what they've got on their doorstep!

 

[Matthew.Passmore]

you are lucky, i would love to see one.

 

[Alex...]

Last night I decided to walk the dog at around 6.30 up across some local fields to some nearby woods.

Well I met a grass snake, curled up in a lovely oval. After the initial shock, I thought better be careful in case there are any more... 100 yds further on, I almost wet myself when i saw an adder slithering away. I have to admit I was a bit shocked by the size of it (first time seeing one), not so much the length but the circumference....I swear every branch I stepped on after that made me double take.

It has to be the slowest I've walked in ages, and because of the length of the grass etc...the poor old dog had to follow me...something she wasnt too happy with!

 

[Makar]

The only pic I can see on this now is by Gailainne and looks like a female (not being pedantic but it is one of the few sexually dimorphic species of snake in the world - ie you can tell males and females apart). However depending on what size it was it may just have been juvenile of either sex. Years ago people thought baby adders were a different species and called them 'Dwarf red adders'. I got some nice shots of one that I disturbed whilst having a pee in the woods! Males tend to be black and silver but then of course there are melanistic/black ones like you get commonly on Arran...

It's nice to arrive at a site where people are positive about snakes!

 

[andyn]

The only pic I can see on this now is by Gailainne and looks like a female (not being pedantic but it is one of the few sexually dimorphic species of snake in the world - ie you can tell males and females apart). However depending on what size it was it may just have been juvenile of either sex. Years ago people thought baby adders were a different species and called them 'Dwarf red adders'. I got some nice shots of one that I disturbed whilst having a pee in the woods! Males tend to be black and silver but then of course there are melanistic/black ones like you get commonly on Arran...

It's nice to arrive at a site where people are positive about snakes!

Thanks for pointing that out Makar, i have fixed the links to the images.

Andy.

 

[sandbender]

A couple of shots of this guy...

His local name 'may' be Erdei siklo, which according to my dictionary would give it the latin name, Elaphae longissema...

 

[firecrest]

beautiful , is that a smoothsnake?
Ive never seen a snake in this country either. I try ever year in angelsey but never yet.

 

[Makar]

Elaphe longissima is an Aesculapian snake - looks like it to me too. These things are pretty big - up to 200cm, so the books say. Only seen dice snakes, grass snakes and vipers in europe and adders and grass snakes in UK. The smooth snake is a small thing which I have seen but only in captivity - usually only about 50/60cm - found in various habitat in europe but tends to be heathland in S England. Not at all common over here.

 

[sandbender]

These things are pretty big - up to 200cm

It was well over a meter maybe 140 - 150 cm, this was on a little used path in a nearby forest, maybe about nine in the morning, she was enjoying the sun I guess...

beautiful , is that a smoothsnake?

No, too big

Ive never seen a snake in this country either. I try ever year in angelsey but never yet.

These are apparently quite common in this part on Hungary, however this is the only one I've seen so far, lots of grass snakes and adders though.

 

[Staghound]

According to wiki there's a small colony of Aesculapian snakes in north Wales, which was news to me at least.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaphe_longissima

I've seen adders on the Malvern Hills, but not for a while and grass snakes are quite common round here, never seen a smooth snake though.

 

[Makar]

Interesting about the N Wales colony. I'd be keen to see them - bit far for me though but maybe a family break sometime. Must check that out.

Just checked it out here http://www.herpconstrust.org.uk/animals/other_reptiles.htm

Small colony around the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay for last 30/40 yrs. Breeding confirmed too!

 

[firecrest]

really??? Why I happen to be off to north wales tommorrow.
We can take bets on me finding one. I bet £100 I dont.