I've 'adder' great day

My day started off well when I was on the bus this morning and news filtered through on Facebook that Charlie, the female falcon of Fulham and Barnes Peregrines fame, has laid her first egg of 2015.

 

This is her majesty just after laying the egg at 6.14am this morning....

 

 

and this is the tiercel Dad, Tom, having his first glimpse of the egg about an hour later....

 

 

Both photos courtesy of the Fulham and Barnes Peregrines Facebook page.

 

Congratulations Charlie and Tom. Hopefully over the next few days some more eggs will be laid. You can keep up to date with the news from the FaB Peregrines on this link.

 

So back to my day. Already smiling after the news about Charlie I met up with Susy and we drove down to a site in Surrey to see something I have never seen before.

 

An Adder.

 

Susy had seen her first one of the year last week and with todays weather forecast being better than hoped for, I jumped at the chance to join her and Paul today.

 

And I wasn't disappointed......

 

 

Susy and Paul were a complete walking wealth of knowledge today. They told me everything I needed to know about Adders.

 

The males emerge first, and look quite dull in colour, but in a few weeks they will shed this skin and their new scales will be brighter, lighter and much more vivid......

 

 

The first male we saw is one of Susy's regulars. By the pattern on it's head Susy was able to compare photos of it to ones she has taken at the same place on the same site in previous years. This is the third year running this particular male has emerged from hibernation in the same spot. He was a good size too, indicating he is a fully grown male.

 

I must admit I fell in love with this Adder. He was just so obliging and even though I kept a respectful distance away from him at all times (my close up photos are due to my good old Sony 75-300mm zoom lens and a bit of editorial cropping), it was the Adder that ended up approaching me. He emerged from the scrub and eventually settled just 4' away from my boots. What an honour. Adders are almost completely deaf and rely mainly on ground vibrations and their sense of smell via their tongue, to source their prey. So by me standing completely still, and when having to move making sure my feet 'rolled' rather than trod, the Adder barely knew I was there.

 

 

 

 

 

My first Adder. What a truly stunning creature.

 

By mid morning it was really getting warmer. It didn't take Paul long to locate two more males. The second was sunbathing out in the open on a sheet of corrugated iron.

 

 

and wasn't too impressed to be awoken....

 

 

I couldn't get any photos of number three male but I managed to grab a glimpse before we moved on.

Our fourth sighting was at another site in Surrey. He was soaking up the suns rays laid out on some old bracken....

 

 

The larger females will start emerging in about 3-4 weeks time. They will also shed their old skin, and then the serious business of partnering up and mating will begin. When I asked why the females emerge later than the males Paul came up with a great theory......they need the extra time to put their make up on ! Haha. But maybe that's not as bizarre as it sounds, except it will be the males that will want to look their best for when the females do emerge from hibernation. They'll need to be strong and attractive to the female, so these extra few weeks they gain ahead of the female will be spent warming up (they're cold blooded), eating to gain strength after their long hibernation and shedding their old skin. Just a theory......?

 

Adders are the only snakes that give birth to live young, rather than lay eggs. Once the young have been born they are basically out on their own straight away.

 

So I have finally got to see my very first Adders. And I am chuffed to bits. But my best everlasting memory will be when my first Adder approached me rather than me approach me him. I cannot put into words just what an honourable feeling that was.

 

Of course our rambling didn't stop with the Adders. Susy found our very first Common Newt of the year.....

 

and as a trained Ecologist she knew exactly how to lift and warm the little newt before carefully placing him back exactly where she had found it...

 

 

I saw Buzzard...

 

 

Red Kite...

 

 

and my favourite, the Kestrel, today...

 

 

There were loads of Roe deer tracks around....

 

 

and some lovely piles of Roe deer poo....

 

 

We walked miles and my knees will no doubt be complaining tomorrow, but every moment was worth it. I cannot thank Susy and Paul enough for taking the time today to not only show me my first Adders, but to also take the time to talk about them at length. I learnt so much. Reading and researching does teach you, but actually being out in the field with knowledgeable friends teaches you a lot more.

 

As we were leaving the second site, this sign was large and visible.....

 

 

Talk about scare-mongering !! Adders may be our country's only venomous snake, but unless you try to pick one up, tread on one or really get in it's face, it is not going to race across a field and attack you. And if you are unfortunate enough to be bitten by an Adder, the most likely side effect will be that you've been hit by the flu bug. There's not been a human fatality from an Adder bite for over 20 years.

 

 So it's pretty simple really. Respect wildlife. Stick to path ways. Don't attempt to pick up anything wild (unless, like Susy, you have the knowledge and a licence to do so) and as the saying goes.....

 

"Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time"