Some photos of the 3 male Adders then.
This is when the 3rd Adder came close to going over my feet!
Some photos then, cheers.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Adder courting, mating, combat activities for April.
On the 18th of April i witnessed some great Adder activities. I had found 2 males, and took some shots of them, and i was making my way back down the track, when i was met head on with the 3rd male. This snake was on a mission, and it was travelling at speed, and at one point i thought it was going to go right over my feet! So I followed it back to where the other males were, taking pics of it as it sped onwards. I was amazed by its speed, and also by the distance it had to go(we are talking a couple of 100 feet, easy). When it arrived, it was frantically searching areas, so i crouched down close to the snakes, but if i was honest i was a bit nervous, because i knew there were 3 male Adders within 10 feet of me, all 3 of them were all around me. Then 2 of the males came together for a bit of combat, but broke off before i could even get a single pic. I couldnt locate the female, but there was a very good chance she was close by.
Some photos of the 3 male Adders then.
Then 2 days later on the 20th of April, I returned to the same area and witnessed Adder courtship/mating activities which i had never seen before. It looks like the darkest male had paired off with the female, and although they were hidden in the undergrowth quite well, i still managed to capture some mating shots. The male was moving over the female, and whilst flicking out his tongue, he also appeared to be "drumming" on her too.
Some photos then, cheers.
Some photos of the 3 male Adders then.
Some photos then, cheers.
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Fantastic set of shots, Paul. Brilliant stuff.
ReplyDeletePaul ,
ReplyDeleteGreat account and shots .
When I have witnessed mating , the male has always made 'jerky' movements , as if watching an old silent movie clip , as he got himself into the same position as the female . Is that what you mean when you mentioned 'drumming' .
Re. your comment on mine , I just don't know what effect the warm spell will have on breeding . The combat I had this year was on the 15th., like yours , just before the temperature rise . If mating took place soon after , things should be OK , only later in the Autumn will we know for sure .
Gripping stuff Paul. Great shots too!
ReplyDeleteNice Adder shots,great.
ReplyDeleteDean, thanks very much mate.
ReplyDeletePhil, cheers for that.
Alan, thanks.
Greenie, Cheers mate.
Yes you are right about the male adders jerky movements over females body, much like an old movie clip.
I have to say that most of the male adders have moved on now, its only really females that i see basking, although there are one or two males about still.