ANOTHER DAY WITH THE ADDERS

   Waking up to a bright sunny day I decided to risk the weekend crowds and try to get some more Adder images before they disperse for the summer at Minsmere. There were quite a few people looking for them, some with more success than others but if you looked in the Bramble patches and were very quiet then they were there to be found. A brief look around revealed several snakes warming themselves up in the sun three of which are shown below, firstly a male, then a close up of a female, and then a darker form Adder.

   All together I saw about a dozen different snakes and observed some interaction between them. The males were still interested in the females and were competing with each other for their attention. Often a male would detect the presence of another and I saw them raising their heads up and scenting the air with their tongues before engaging in some brief combative 'dancing' with intruding males as can be seen in the two images below.

   This behaviour always resulted when a female was in the vicinity and the males were competing for the chance to mate. I was fortunate to witness one male drive off two separate intruders before mating with the female which he initiated by repeatedly tapping the female with small jerky movements before she accepted him and they joined together. The below pictures show a close up of the two heads together, the two joined, and a close up of the joining. This is something I had not seen before and I am told it is quite unusual to record. The pair remained joined for about an hour before separating and moving on.

   As the heat of the day warmed up the snakes they became more active and more difficult to see as they moved around more disappearing in the undergrowth but this did give me the chance to picture them out in the open as shown in these last three images, firstly a male close up, then a female on the leaf litter giving me the eye and finally a male coming towards me through the grass as I lay on the ground and yes, I did move out of the way before he got too close! A great day with some beautiful creatures.