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Adders 2011 |
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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Aww I don't know, I like this time of year Dave, it's November that gets to me. Nothing wrong with today, warm, working in the wildlife garden being watched by the lizards, sat down this evening to watch a huge flock of Canadian Geese arrive at the local farm with the backdrop of a huge full Harvest moon, Barn Swallows now fledged in the garage and life feels pretty good.. Come mid-November though I'll be very depressed and counting the days until mid-Feb!
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flywaver
Member Joined: 25 Nov 2010 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 28 |
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On Saturday i was at my favourite reptile mecca and saw 4 Adults and two Babies. Had to watch where i stepped as there was bound to be more. Under a metal sheet was an average length Natrix Natrix and i was surprised it wasnt thinking about making a meal of the baby Berus. Is that known?
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dave fixx
Senior Member Joined: 13 Mar 2007 Location: Wales Status: Offline Points: 411 |
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Agreed Gemma ,immediate times are exciting but like you November does me in.I still remember well the first adder of this year ,new site for me about 5 degrees damp and no sun.Great feeling.
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Dave Williams
davewilliamsphotography.co.uk |
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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I'm not so badly affected herp-wise by winter but as a kid we had a family joke about the end of Feb. that our dorsal fins started to twitch as we anticipated the start of the fishing season on Lake Windermere (brown trout). We would be on the bank casting in on the first day we could, which was I think March 6th. It was sometimes actually snowing but we had to be there. God it was cold!
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Suz
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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Valentine's Day has been the cue for me Suz, 14th Feb and I'm watching the weather forecasts as if my life depended on it, then it comes, the first day for months when I can feel warmth from the sun again and my little friends start to stir!
I might try earlier in 2012 though, as this year I think there were a handful of days in early Feb that may well have seen adder on the surface here in Essex, I'm fairly sure I only caught the tail end of things this year with some males already dispersed. I know there have been reports from Kent in recent years during January.
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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I've tried many years to see adders in Feb. but no luck. I did think maybe here in East Devon we weren't an optimum place from a weather/temp angle but I don't think that can be the whole reason.
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Suz
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Caleb
Senior Member Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Status: Offline Points: 660 |
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Adders are occasionally out in February up here in Co. Durham- my earliest is 9th Feb, but I think other people have seen them even earlier.
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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My mid-Feb adders always come from known hibernacula, that may be a factor Suz as they are animals that have only moved a few feet from their winter dens to the surface and I know exactly where to look. Target survey time is late morning/midday in mid-Feb, so quite out-of-line with what we normally expect to be a good time to take a look.
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Suzy
Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1447 |
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Yes Gemma I think doing the rounds of the spring/summer basking spots is not what I should be doing in Feb. I'm not sure of any hibernacula sites so I guess that is why I'm unlucky, as I read on here of people in the north seeing them early on, I guess near hibernacula.
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Suz
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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Probably directly on top of hibernacula Suz, there is approximately a two week period whilst the male adders will sit directly on top of the hibernation site or very very nearby, returning to their winter quarters at night. Once you get an eye for hibernacula it isn't too difficult to pin them down. I've often walked onto a site and made a mental note of likely spots to be well rewarded the following spring. It's a bit like spotting reptiles, once you have seen a few they get easier to spot.
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