I have to admit to, not doing very much birding of late. Through the summer i devoted most of my spare time to closely observing local reptiles to me(specifically the adders). I was hoping that i might witness one of the female adders giving birth to her young? That was not meant to be(even though I put the hours into it). So I missed the birth, but i went on to find/photograph/record my findings anyway. I found 6 different baby adders on the one day, and noted yet another. There was also a high probability that another baby adder perished soon after birth. So the female adder that i had watched closely over the months between April to August, gave birth to at least 8 babies.
Baby Common lizards and also young Grass snakes were also seen/photographed too.
Now that most(if not all) the local reptiles are into their hibernation, I can now turn back to the birds. Ive visited Oare Marshes, Leybourne Lakes etc. recently, and have put in some time back on my Church patch, so some good bird pics are already "in the bank".
Just remains to post a couple of baby adder photos(of which i have many!)...cheers, and its good to be back.
1st baby was seen on the 16th of August, and this neonate probably perished? It did not look healthy at all, Id like to think it survived, but I doubt it did?
Several more healthier adders were seen over the next couple of months though, and these are some of my favourite photos.
There are 2 babies here, and probably both male and female, the male moves away in the next pic, to reveal a stunning female.
She is a beauty.
And to finish off this blog, I managed to capture 3 babies together in the same photo.
One final word, at no time did i try to handle any of these adders, I only take photos of these snakes in the positions that i find them.
You certainly have been busy, what a great set of pics.
ReplyDeletePaul ,
ReplyDeleteI was beginning to think that you had gone into early hibernation yourself .
Good to see the Adders have done well your way , has been a bit below average on the sites that I have visited .
Would have been amazing to have photographed a birth , especially in the wild .
Can't remember , do you send your records to KRAG ?
Good advice in the final sentence .
Alan Pavey, thanks for that, it was a busy and most enjoyable time.
ReplyDeleteGreenie, Hibernation could have its benefits for us humans mate ;) but no, Im still very much awake(unlike my tortoises, they are in hibernation).
I watched 3 females this season, but only the one showed signs of continual basking, the other 2 didnt produce young. So maybe next year, those 2 will breed?
There is always another year to catch that moment when an adder gives birth, Ive yet to see such a sight, but hope to one day. The chances of being in the right place at the right time, are so slim, but who knows, I might have to camp out in the woods for a couple of weeks!!!
I should send my records to KRAG, but im a bit secretive about the exact location of these adders.