# First Adders of 2011(3 of them!)



## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

First off, Im not a snake person, Ive never kept snakes. That's not to say that I dont admire them, because they are fantastic reptiles. I enjoy a bit of photography(especially British wildlife) and what better subject could you choose, than British reptiles. This is only the 2nd year that i have searched for snakes, and i did get lucky last year too.

Yesterday was the warmest day so far for Kent, so today i thought i would spend an hour(lunch break from work) and see if i couldn't find an early Adder basking. I did slightly better than i thought, i found 3 Adders!
I took a fair few photos, so i will be adding more pics to this thread(when i get time).

Im not too sure what sex these are, but i think the 1st two might be Females? and the 3rd a Male? I have no problem in being corrected about their sex, by a more experienced forumite.

I would also like to add, that i did not disturb these Adders, all the pics were taken as i found them. Cheers, and enjoy the photos.





1st Adder.










2nd Adder.










3rd Adder.










And a close up of the 1st Adder.


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## JPP (Jun 8, 2009)

i like that last shot, didnt know adders has red eyes, i think i prefer that to my boa :gasp:


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

that last photo's a beaut TM  but i'm liking the whole leaves thing in the first, sets her off nicely!


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

JPP said:


> i like that last shot, didnt know adders has red eyes, i think i prefer that to my boa :gasp:


Yes mate, deep red eyes.



daftlassieEmma said:


> that last photo's a beaut TM  but i'm liking the whole leaves thing in the first, sets her off nicely!


Cheers for that, the whole area is covered with those fallen brown leaves.

When i get time, I will add some more pics, because i just kept shooting away.


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## Trice (Oct 4, 2006)

Beautiful snakes mate. Pictures capture them in their best as well!


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## spencerwells (Oct 8, 2007)

wow....stunning photos there hun:2thumb:

good find!


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## ophidianman (Sep 5, 2008)

Great pics, nice one finding them. Weather is shit here in Dorset but if it clears up over the weekend I'll get out myself and visit a few colonys close to me. If they were Dorset Adders I'd say they were all female as the males around my area always have a much lighter background colouration.


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

Trice said:


> Beautiful snakes mate. Pictures capture them in their best as well!


Thanks mate, it was a good day, good light, sunny, warm, and the right time of the day. Because the weather changed to much cooler/windy just after I'd finished, so i would imagine those snakes headed for shelter and out of sight.



spencerwells said:


> wow....stunning photos there hun:2thumb:
> 
> good find!


Thanks very much for that.



ophidianman said:


> Great pics, nice one finding them. Weather is shit here in Dorset but if it clears up over the weekend I'll get out myself and visit a few colonys close to me. If they were Dorset Adders I'd say they were all female as the males around my area always have a much lighter background colouration.


Cheers about my pics. Like i said above, the weather took a turn for the worst in the afternoon, so I picked the right time of the day for it.
I was pretty sure the 1st 2 were females, but i wasnt sure if the third was male or female??


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## Trice (Oct 4, 2006)

Testudo Man said:


> Thanks mate, it was a good day, good light, sunny, warm, and the right time of the day. Because the weather changed to much cooler/windy just after I'd finished, so i would imagine those snakes headed for shelter and out of sight.



Perfect timing then!


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## tomwilson (Feb 27, 2010)

great pics as always TM: victory:


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## iiisecondcreep (Oct 29, 2007)

Oh my, beautiful shots of beautiful snakes!! I'm so jealous, I've never seen a wild UK reptile


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

Trice said:


> Perfect timing then!


Or spare of the moment luck:blush: well, I only decided about an hour before i went:whistling2:



tomwilson said:


> great pics as always TM: victory:


Cheers mate.



iiisecondcreep said:


> Oh my, beautiful shots of beautiful snakes!! I'm so jealous, I've never seen a wild UK reptile


Thanks very much, I will get the other pics sorted soon enough, i did capture some close up shots that came out alright.

Youve just got to get out there, UK wild reptiles can be seen, and if you dont see them, Im sure you'll see/photograph other great sights in the process: victory:


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## slippery42 (Mar 23, 2008)

They are all males, no females out yet!


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Totally awesome, totally jealous!


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## fantapants (Jan 4, 2008)

Stunning pics, i love the first one and the close up.


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## Mowgli91 (Nov 29, 2010)

Absolutly amazing photos :2thumb:

What was the temperature and weather like when you saw these?


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

slippery42 said:


> They are all males, no females out yet!


Cheers for that. Could you go into more detail as why these are all males please. Could it be their colouration? markings? size? shape of tail? And is it a well known fact that the males emerge from hibernation earlier than that of the females, thanks.



AshMashMash said:


> Totally awesome, totally jealous!


Cheers Ash, see, I told you wildlife photography aint boring!: victory:



fantapants said:


> Stunning pics, i love the first one and the close up.


Thanks Ali, i will up load some other pics i took now.



Mowgli91 said:


> Absolutly amazing photos :2thumb:
> 
> What was the temperature and weather like when you saw these?


Thanks, the temp. was approx 12 degrees Celcius, windy, and the sun did shine through some clouds at times.




Some more photos then.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

The head close ups are awesome, specially #1 there with the OOF background :2thumb:

Have you seen my wasp pic in photo section? That's wildlife :whistling2:


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

AshMashMash said:


> The head close ups are awesome, specially #1 there with the OOF background :2thumb:
> 
> Have you seen my wasp pic in photo section? That's wildlife :whistling2:


 
Cheers Ash, I had the camera set on macro for the close up shops, and to achieve the OOF background, i had to get down and shoot from a low position, which wasnt easy to do, given the subject!!!

Yes, I just checked your Wasp out, its a nice couple of shots of an interesting Wasp. You agree then, Wildlife is good: victory:


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## struvas (Jan 22, 2009)

Pics look lovely with the leafy background! Nice one! What camera were you using?


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## Mowgli91 (Nov 29, 2010)

Testudo Man said:


> Cheers for that. Could you go into more detail as why these are all males please. Could it be their colouration? markings? size? shape of tail? And is it a well known fact that the males emerge from hibernation earlier than that of the females, thanks.
> 
> Thanks, the temp. was approx 12 degrees Celcius, windy, and the sun did shine through some clouds at times.



Cheers, also male adders are smaller and have a darker (very dark brown to almost black) zig-zag pattern on the back and however the rest of the body is usually slightly lighter than females, hope that helps with differentiating the two. : victory:


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

struvas said:


> Pics look lovely with the leafy background! Nice one! What camera were you using?


Cheers for that, Im using a Panasonic FZ28, its not a DSLR, but a very nice, capable bridge camera.



Mowgli91 said:


> Cheers, also male adders are smaller and have a darker (very dark brown to almost black) zig-zag pattern on the back and however the rest of the body is usually slightly lighter than females, hope that helps with differentiating the two. : victory:


I think what threw me, was the darkness of 2 of them, whilst the other was much lighter. I did think they were a bit small, but i thought 2 of them might have been young females. I did photograph both male and female Adders last year, so i should have checked out my old pics for a reference/guide.


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

I had a spare hour this last Sunday, so i returned to the same area where i had found the Adders on the Friday. The temp. was a lot cooler, and it was almost overcast, but i still found 2 Adders(together!) Then the rain came:bash:.

I got a few photos though.


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## manda88 (Nov 27, 2009)

All I can say is WOW, seriously stunning photos TM, I wish wish wish I knew a good spot around here for some of these! I would LOVE to photograph them!


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## Mowgli91 (Nov 29, 2010)

Love the second and last photo, absolutly amazing :2thumb:


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

manda88 said:


> All I can say is WOW, seriously stunning photos TM, I wish wish wish I knew a good spot around here for some of these! I would LOVE to photograph them!


Thanks very much, i appreciate that. 
Just checked and your in Surrey, so there must be some Adder habitats local to you?



Mowgli91 said:


> Love the second and last photo, absolutly amazing :2thumb:


Cheers for that, Im not going back to the area until the sun is right out/blue skies, because with a good source of light, i will be able to capture even better images(well, hopefully?)


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## pollywog (Oct 6, 2005)

Nice pics, the leaves make for a great backdrop.


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

pollywog said:


> Nice pics, the leaves make for a great backdrop.


Cheers, there is a thick layer of fallen leaves(that cover a large wooded area) both sides of a fire break/bridle path, where the adders are reported to be in good numbers. I dont really venture too far into the woods though, and i spoke to locals there on sunday who were walking their dogs, and they said that last year they saw an all Black Adder? which could be interesting?


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## komodoman (Jan 10, 2011)

Hi there,

The Adders are all male. The females always come out of hibernation a few weeks later than the males. The best way to tell is to look at the colour of the zigzag itself, forget the surrounding colours. If the zigzag is black in colour it's generally a male, if it's brown it's a female. The females are generally fatter and bulkier.


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## Carnuss (Feb 27, 2011)

Testudo Man said:


> I had a spare hour this last Sunday, so i returned to the same area where i had found the Adders on the Friday. The temp. was a lot cooler, and it was almost overcast, but i still found 2 Adders(together!) Then the rain came:bash:.
> 
> I got a few photos though.
> 
> ...


Their red eyes look evil but cool. :diablo:


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## Rojugi (Jan 25, 2011)

Amazing pics! but apparently someone beat you to it 



> This week KRAG received a phone call from Conservation Partners, White Cliffs Countryside Partnership who had been sent details of an adder sighting at The Folkestone Warren on January 14th.


Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group - KRAG News 

If you don't do so already, it would be great if you would take the time to fill out records for KRAG to let them know when and where you've seen adders, or any other wild reptiles and amphibians


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

komodoman said:


> Hi there,
> 
> The Adders are all male. The females always come out of hibernation a few weeks later than the males. The best way to tell is to look at the colour of the zigzag itself, forget the surrounding colours. If the zigzag is black in colour it's generally a male, if it's brown it's a female. The females are generally fatter and bulkier.


Cheers mate, like i said earlier in this thread, i should have checked the Adder pics i took last year for reference, then i would have been able to compare, in order to sex them correctly. I did manage to shoot a couple of pics of a nice big female last year, just cant seem to find those pics just yet.



Carnuss said:


> Their red eyes look evil but cool. :diablo:


Yeah, those red eyes are something else.



Rojugi said:


> Amazing pics! but apparently someone beat you to it
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Cheers, i should have been more specific in my thread title:whistling2: because i meant that these were the first Adder pics that _I _have taken this year: victory:.
I will check that link out shortly, it looks interesting, cheers.


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## wayakinwolf (Oct 6, 2006)

Absolutely awesome photography, really love that last one with the tongue out. Wish i could take a decent pic, can`t for toffee so my OH does all my pics.:blush:


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

wayakinwolf said:


> Absolutely awesome photography, really love that last one with the tongue out. Wish i could take a decent pic, can`t for toffee so my OH does all my pics.:blush:


Thanks for that.

As for taking a decent pic, its just practice really, just grab a camera and take 100's of photos, you'll soon get the knack of it, anyone can take decent pics.


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## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

cracking photos.
I've been out looking on the Heathland near me last 2 weekends ands haven't seen anything yet!:blush:


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## Woodsman (Aug 12, 2008)

jonodrama said:


> cracking photos.
> I've been out looking on the Heathland near me last 2 weekends ands haven't seen anything yet!:blush:


You're not the only one,I'm having the very devil of a job finding them this year!


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

jonodrama said:


> cracking photos.
> I've been out looking on the Heathland near me last 2 weekends ands haven't seen anything yet!:blush:


Cheers...I think its just a matter of time before you see one local to you.



Woodsman said:


> You're not the only one,I'm having the very devil of a job finding them this year!


I do know of a guy local to me, who went somewhere on the North Downs recently, and he photographed 9 different adders(all male) on the same day:gasp: he even has a photo of one of them sitting in a bush/low tree!!!


Several more photos then, this one was shot on the 4th of march.



















Then on the 11th of March i got lucky, because i found one basking out in the open(1st time for me) so i got down low(laid on the ground) and carefully took some shots.


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## manda88 (Nov 27, 2009)

Testudo Man said:


> Thanks very much, i appreciate that.
> Just checked and your in Surrey, so there must be some Adder habitats local to you?


Only just seen this reply, sorry!
Yeah I think there's a fair few places round here that I'd be able to go and find them, it's just a case of being there at the right time I suppose 
I could look at these pics all day, they're just awesome, the detail is incredible.


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## Testudo Man (Aug 3, 2005)

manda88 said:


> Only just seen this reply, sorry!
> Yeah I think there's a fair few places round here that I'd be able to go and find them, it's just a case of being there at the right time I suppose
> I could look at these pics all day, they're just awesome, the detail is incredible.


Good luck with finding some around your area: victory:

Thanks very much for your comments, I have put some time into hopefully capturing some good images of Adders this year.

These last 2 shots might be my best yet?...Its all about the tongue!


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